‘SEXING THE HUMMER’: A GENDER GUIDE TO ABACO’S HUMMINGBIRDS
The subject matter of this post is not as indelicate as the title might imply; nor is it a ‘hands-on’ practical guide for intimate examinations of tiny birds. In particular it does not publicise some recently discovered louche activity involving unfeasibly large motor vehicles. It’s all about plumage. In my thin disguise as a person with apparent knowledge about the wildlife of a country that is not my own, I get frequent requests for bird ID. Some, I know at once. Some I have to think about, my memory not being quite as…
Where was I? Yes, bird ID. I use BRUCE HALLETT’S book of course, and online the CORNELL LAB and AUDUBON sites. OISEUX-BIRDS is also a good resource and has a large archive of images. And of course dear old Google – they may watch your every keystroke and know more about you than you do yourself, but put a bird’s name into Google Images and you’ll probably see your bird in every static pose or flight you need for ID. They’ll log that too for future use. I have had some queries about Bahama Woodstar gender ID, and more recently, Cuban Emeralds. So here are the adult males and females of each species in all their undoubted glory…
BAHAMA WOODSTAR (Calliphlox evelynae)
WOODSTAR ID MADE EASY
Males have a glorious purple, showy ‘gorget’. Females are less flamboyant, and have grey throats and fronts. Tara’s wonderful photo above vividly demonstrates their more delicate beauty. It’s one of my personal favourites from “BIRDS OF ABACO“, along with Tom Sheley’s above, the bird that graces the jacket.
CUBAN EMERALD (Chlorostilbon ricordii)
EMERALD ID MADE EASY
Male emeralds are basically… er… emerald green all over , apart from the wings. Females have grey throats and fronts, and lack the chestnut frontal band of the female woodstar. I’d say that their iridescent green is a different metallic shade from the male, but that may be just me. I don’t have the palette vocab to describe it, but advice welcome! Perhaps one can simply say it is more subtle.
SO IT’S JUST THE TWO HUMMERS ON ABACO, IS IT?
The answer is ‘No’. But don’t make a special trip to see the third species – they are casual / irregular vagrants only, and a definite sighting will be a rarity. But just in case, here are stock photos of a male and a female, and (taken on Abaco by Bruce Hallett) an immature male of the species…
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male, immature)
This is an attractive print of the R-tH by Menaboni
To complete this post, I’ll add a brilliant Woodstar photo taken by Tom Sheley, birdman and generous fishing partner, that I reckon spans the boundary between photography and art.
Credits: In addition to those shown below images, Steve Maslowski and Tim Ross for the RTHs
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I love these pretty little creatures! At my work l learned from a researcher that hummingbirds get their sweet tooth from the dinosaurs. It’s fascinating… http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/where-do-hummingbirds-get-their-sweet-tooth-1.1905294
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Great link – thanks EST. Turns out I must have repurposed my personal umami taste receptor and intensified its effect! Umami shall be my ‘word of the week’… RH
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Wonderful array of really spectacular photos, RH. That last one by Tom Sheley of the female Woodstar is incredible. I love those little curled-up feet.
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Tom’s a great photographer. I went out in the field with him – he has two lenses, huge and massive! RH
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these are three of our species too! love these!
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They are indeed so cute – going out next month, so hopefully some more great photos! RH
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