Dan P Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Taken 1-30-2021 in the afternoon at Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, Van Nuys, CA. The eBird charts for this hotspot show that there have not been any observations of Rufous Hummingbird between the 2nd week of Dec. and the 1st week of Feb. (1900-2021). Also the charts indicate a high frequency of observations of Allen's Hummingbird in all 52 weeks of the year. Even so, if the species of this bird cannot be confidently identified by these photos, is it best to ID it as Rufous/Allen's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 (edited) Definitely Allen’s It has a green back. I’m not sure if it’s totally out of range for Rufous (the photos themselves may not be 100% conclusive) but in the context of date, location, and the green back, it’s definitely an Allen’s A spread tail photo would be conclusive in and of itself Edited February 2, 2021 by AlexHenry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 10 hours ago, AlexHenry said: Definitely Allen’s It has a green back. I’m not sure if it’s totally out of range for Rufous (the photos themselves may not be 100% conclusive) but in the context of date, location, and the green back, it’s definitely an Allen’s A spread tail photo would be conclusive in and of itself On females, you need the tail spread, with males mostly need the color of the back. I agree with Allen’s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 (edited) Keep in mind about 5% of the Rufous Hummer population can be Green-backed. I'd leave it as Rufous/Allen's Edited February 2, 2021 by Avery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Cochrane Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I'd say you're safe calling this Allen's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Connor Cochrane said: I'd say you're safe calling this Allen's. Says the guy with the Allen’s pfp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 3 hours ago, Avery said: Keep in mind about 5% of the Rufous Hummer population can be Green-backed. I'd leave it as Rufous/Allen’s I mean yeah, some adult male Rufous have green on their back, but usually it is just specks of green mixed in with the orange. I have never seen a Rufous with this much green on the back, though it might be theoretically possible. The almost completely green back on this bird, combined with the context of date and location, make it super safe to call it Allen’s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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