Hi Everybody!!
Most of You know I have been very excited about having a little golden guest here at the Bird Sanctuary this winter. He made himself known to me on Thanksgiving Day, when he looked in my window while we were having dinner! I immediately put a feeder up for him and he has been here everyday since. Most of my glimpses of him have been through the icy glass window from my desk. Sometimes he would seem green and sometimes golden. Anyway, I am a old lady and the eyesight is not that good. Surprise, surprise, surprise: it turns out there are two (2) winter hummingbirds!!!!!! One is gold and the other is green. As I never have seen a golden hummingbird, I thought perhaps mine was a new robotic deal, but No, no one could make a robot as pretty as this bird. Now, You know where to go when you need the answer to anything, right? Google Search! I typed in golden hummingbird. Up pops a Rufous Hummingbird that could be my golden hummer and the green one could be his girl. Also found an Allen's Hummingbird. These birds are not from Texas and not shown on any map in my area, however, in the Wikipedia info below, it states the there are eastern vagrants called Rufous/Allen Hummingbird. They are staying over on the Gulf Coast down to Florida. These tiny guests are even more amazing: pioneers in new migration route. See what You think! Enjoy!
Link to Photostudy in G+Albums:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5973462830765880945
Link to Photostudy in G+Albums:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5973463989959308753
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous_Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm long (3 inches) with a long, straight and very slender bill. The female is slightly larger than the male.
| Rufous Hummingbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult male | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Trochiliformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Selasphorus |
| Species: | S. rufus |
Description[edit]
The adult male, (shown in the photo), has a white breast, rufous face, upperparts, flanks and tail and an iridescent orange-red throat patch (gorget). Some males have some green on back and/or crown. The female has green upperparts with some white, some iridescent orange feathers in the center of the throat, and a dark tail with white tips and rufous base. Females and the rare green-backed males are extremely difficult to differentiate from Allen's Hummingbird. This is a typical-sized hummingbird, being a very small bird. It weighs 2–5 g (0.071–0.18 oz), measures 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long and spans 11 cm (4.3 in) across the wings.[2]
They feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendible tongue or catch insects on the wing. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and become torpid at night to conserve energy.
Because of their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals.
Breeding[edit]
Their breeding habitat is open areas and forest edges in western North America from southern Alaska to California. This bird nests further north than any other hummingbird. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or conifer. The male aggressively defends feeding locations within his territory. The same male may mate with several females. The males can also become really aggressive toward the females.
Migration[edit]
They are migratory, many of them migrating through the Rocky Mountains and nearby lowlands in July and August to take advantage of the wildflower season there. They may stay in one spot for considerable time, in which case the migrants, like breeding birds, often aggressively take over and defend feeding locations. Most winter in wooded areas in the Mexico state of Guerrero, traveling over 2,000 miles by an overland route from its nearest summer home—a prodigious journey for a bird weighing only three or four grams.
This is the western hummingbird most likely to stray into eastern North America. In the United States, there has been an increasing trend for them to migrate southeast to winter in warmer climates like Florida or on the Gulf Coast, rather than in Mexico. (They do arrive at the Turks and Caicos Islands.) This trend is the result of increased survival with the provision of artificial feeders in gardens. In the past, individuals that migrated eastward toward Canada and the northern USA in error would usually die, but now they often survive as they seem to spend more time in the warm Gulf Coast and Florida. Provided sufficient food and shelter is available, they are surprisingly hardy, able to tolerate temperatures down to at least -20°C, so they can be seen in late fall in places like the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and upper New England. As winter comes birds in these areas normally head to the warmer Gulf coast and Florida.
Most hummingbirds that migrate east are juvenile birds and may occasionally be adult females but are very seldom adult males. Since juvenile or female are essentially indistinguishable from Allen's Hummingbirds unless they are examined in hand, many of the eastern vagrants are classified as "Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird". However, a majority are believed to be from the Rufous species.[3]
Link to Photostudy in G+Albums:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5972120169715854097
HaHa-this is Not my hummingbird!:
https://www.google.com/search?q=robotic+hummingbird&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS552US555&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mT3nUsjvE5fMsQSelYHYDg&ved=0CCcQsAQ&biw=1014&bih=626#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9PpoFKoKT_x4GM%253A%3BD7LWm5wVEHBUTM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Frealitypod.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F02%252F6.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Frealitypod.com%252F2012%252F02%252F7-strange-robots-the-pentagon-is-developing%252F%3B600%3B400
The last past Polar Vortex did not stop Spring or this Red Maple Bloom!!
(Hold on for a wild ride tonight as freezing temps forecast for next 20 hours-----)
..this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.
See You next time!
Link to Photostudy in G+Albums:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5973567218841360833
O+O
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi Everybody! Please say hello and follow so I know you are here! Due to the inconsideration of people trying to put commercials on my blog comment area, I have restricted use of anonymous posts. Sorry that some hurt all.
My public email is katescabin@gmail.com No spammers or trolls