Little Jewels of the garden every hummingbird displays some irridescence. The Rufous Hummingbird male (pictured above) is one of several Winter Hummingbirds we may glimpse winter through spring. In Fort Bend County, coastal Texas southwest of Houston, this is usually December on; but with birds “occasionals” can casually show up during any season.
The male pictured above is not in breeding plumage (or perhaps light is too low to catch it) that flashes iridescence of copper where black is on his thoat. Thanks to Margaret's upclose shot, we have our red jewels in the background. Just last week (12-2-2013), Margaret glimpsed a male in full breeding plumage in her Quail Valley garden on Oyster Creek in Missouri City, but was inside . . . he was gone before she could get her camera.
Contrast the smaller breast markings just starting of the immature Rufous male above. Most US Hummers live in Western States. North America has 23 species of Hummingbirds with 8 only living above the Mexican border.
The only true eastern hummer of the 8 is the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, which is a dependable fall/spring migrant in our area. For species comparison, Ecuador alone has 163 species of hummers.
Our Winter Hummers may include Calliope (male pictured above), black-chinned, broad-tailed (4"), Allen’s and an occasional ruby–throated (our most common 3 3/4" spring/fall visitor).The Calliope has a streaked, purpleish-red, irridescent throat in breeding plumage and an irridescent green back (like many females, black-chinned, broad-tailed and ruby-throated hummers).
The Black-chinned Hummingbird (above either a female or immature male) is tiny (3 1/4”) as are the Rufous, Allen's and Calloipe. Black-chinned mature males have a solid violet band below the black throat (unlike the streaks of violet of the Calliope). The white feathers on the tail, are also seen on other hummers with wide tails, which include the black-chinned, broad-tailed, rufous, and calliope. However, the color patterns can vary and are often one of the best distinguishing markings a good field guide will illustrate, if you're lucky enough to get a good look at the tail in good enough light. Notice how much longer the black-chinned's beak is than the other hummers pictured.
The tiny Rufous is our most common winter visitor. The Rufous breeds all the way to Alaska, so this tiny bird is quite migratory and one of the most dependable visitors to the east part of the lower US. Banders believe most of our winter hummers, are coming from the Rocky Mountains.
Now, this piece has talked more about green-backed hummers, but the astute observer has likely noticed the male Rufous is more brown and white with greenish, dark wings.
The Allen's Hummer has much the same coloring, but a green back. The Allen's female is a "dulled-out version of the male." But when the male of either the Allen's or the Rufous is developing their adult colors, you may just want to refer to them by the first part of their scientific name, Selasphoras, as the picture below demonstrates.
Is the above hummer an Allen's or a Rufous? The tail or call would likely provide the best clues.
You may want to keep some of your feeders out. While during a mild winter, Fort Bend may have Cuphea (like the candy corn variety above) or Shrimp Plant blooming, we can't depend on that. You'll never see the numbers of hummers you see of the Ruby-Throated, but you may glimpse on warmer days in the upper 40's and above, some of our little winter jewels!
To survive cold times, our winter visitors go into Torpor, which is similar to hibernation. Janice experienced Torpor up-close and personal when a Torolosa Juniper blew down in a Norther. In uprighting the large juniper, I noticed something unusual in the wet, cold grass.
It was a Hummingbird in Torpor. At the time I didn't know if it was dead or alive, but took it in the house and put it in a box with a screen on top. Then, I put it under an incandescent light that was 40 watts and far enough away to warm slowly and gradually. While reading, I heard the familiar flutter of wings as the hummingbird flew and hovered in the small box. This was in January, but fortunately the weather sunned up with a warmer afternoon. Releasing and watching the hummer fly away was a big thrill.
At the time, I thought it was a ruby-throated female. Now I know it could have been an immature male or female of a number of species discussed today. I wish I had known more about the tail patterns then to better identify, but the thrill of release is an experience I'll never forget.
Happy Holidays from Margaret Sloan and Janice Scanlan!
January Update to this post. . . The day after our first and a rare "hard freeze" I visited Margaret's garden the next day. It was still quite cold and blustery and overcast in the early to mid afternoon. We were treated to 7 Hummingbirds "working the feeders" including 3 Rufous, 1 or 2 Allen's, a Black-chinned and a Ruby-Throated. Yes, we really do have Winter Hummingbirds when it is cold! I have just had Rufous . . . but excited about that because they tend to build year after year.
Visit Cornell's All About Birds, for some great photos and id tips on Allen's Hummingbirds.
and more . . .
On February 28, 2014, Rufous Hummingbirds are still enjoying their winter visit to Quail Valley, Missouri City, TX.
Rufous Male Hummingbird
See our article on the Ruby Throated Hummingbird.
Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link.
See a bird you don't recognize in Fort Bend? Margaret has photographed 150+ bird species just in her suburban Fort Bend,Texas backyard alone. Narrow your initial search by viewing her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link. They are organized by types of birds, so if it's a water bird for example, you may find one that helps you narrow your search. Then if you "google in" the name of the bird, you'll get info and all kinds of information and images. Sometimes if a species is remarkably different from adult you may find nothing, contact us and we'll do our best to help.
Researched and posted by Janice Scanlan. Click photos to enlarge them.