Grand Junction Hummingbird

[Jason Beason]

Dear Birders:

There is a late hummingbird at Larry Arnold's house in Grand Junction.  Anyone willing to offer their expertise at identifying this bird will be showered with gifts!

Here's the link to the photos by Jackson Trappett from 13 Oct:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58672470@N03/8083190234/in/photostream/ 

Thank you,

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Jason Beason
Paonia - Delta County

[quet...@comcast.net]

Jason, I will bite, although I am not an expert on hummingbird ID. Given the late date, and the shifts in climate, it is best to consider all migratory hummingbird species, not just the usual Colorado breeding species (i.e. Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Black-chinned Hummingbird). I believe the small size, greenish upperparts, and pale gray (mostly whitish) underparts with no buff rule out all but species of the genus Archilochus (Black-chinned/Ruby-throated) or Calypte (Anna's/Costa's). The longer tail relative to wings knocks off Costa's. Anna's should have a thicker bill and a thin white line over the eye. That leaves the Archilochus. Black-chinned are common breeders in Grand Junction whereas Ruby-throated would be accidental there, a straggler from the eastern part of the continent. In mid-October, Black-chinned could also be considered a straggler. Unfortunately, these two Archilochus are very similar as juveniles, and the gray edges to the upperparts indicate juvenile. The extent of gray on the upper parts also supports Black-chinned. Ruby-throated is usually much greener above. However, two structural features favor Ruby-throated - the short, straight bill, and the narrow, straight primaries. Black-chinned should have a longer, slightly decurved bill, and blunt curved primaries. I can see why this bird is not easily identified. I would imagine that a hybrid Black-chinned x Ruby-throated juvenile would look like this bird. Has anyone else suggested hybrid?

 

Nick Komar

Fort Collins, CO

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