[Birdtalk] Hummingbird Confusion

[Webmail rfridell]

Hello Jason,
Definitely a Black-chinned Hummingbird in your photos.  Broad-tailed
Hummingbirds have modified primaries that make a very loud buzzing trill in
flight.......However, male Black-chinned Hummingbirds also have modified
primaries that produce a distinct buzz in flight. This wing buzz
is particularly loud when they are doing their side to side 'shuttle'
display in front of a female, however it is lower and never as loud as a
Broad-tailed Hummingbird.  Male Rufous, Ruby-throated, and several other
species of hummingbirds also have modified primary tips that produce wing
buzzes and trills.

Regarding hummingbird books, my favorite is Steve Howell's Photographic
Guide to Hummingbirds of North America, although Sheri Williamson's
Hummingbirds of North America is also very good (Peterson Guide series). I'd
recommend them both, as everyone knows you can't have too many bird books.

Regards,

Rick Fridell
Hurricane, UT

On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 4:42 PM, Jason Pietrzak <pietrzak at gmail.com> wrote:

> Two days ago I caught a brief glimpse of our first Hummingbird of the year
> and I thought I saw a Broad-tailed. Then yesterday I shot some photos of
> what I thought was a Black-chinned. Today, without camera, I heard what I
> was pretty certain was a BTHU but never saw it. Then, an hour later, I saw
> the same BCHU as last night.
>
> Here are last night's shots, keep in mind the sun had set a while back and
> the bird was 10 meters away:
> http://photojkp.com/Hummer/
> BTHU, right? Are those white flank-bars common? I've never seen them nor do
> my guides show them...
>
> So now I'm starting to doubt myself! It seems unlikely to me that both of
> these would show up almost on the exact same day and then come to the feeder
> at different times and confuse me, but I suppose anything is possible. Am I
> imagining the BTHU? Does anybody have a good suggestion on what makes a
> sound that could be confused for a BTHU? Does anybody have any
> recommendations on a good Hummer guide? I'll keep my camera close for now in
> case I hear what I think is the BTHU again!
>
> Good birding!
>
> Jason Pietrzak
> Moab, UT
>
> _______________________________________________
> Birdtalk mailing list
> Birdtalk at utahbirds.org
> http://utahbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/birdtalk
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdtalk/attachments/20090411/18703d27/attachment.htm