{"id":64,"date":"2015-11-01T02:01:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T02:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studentblogs.viu.ca\/rufoushummingbird\/?p=1"},"modified":"2017-08-23T17:32:02","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T17:32:02","slug":"the-sassiest-hummingbird-in-north-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2015\/11\/01\/the-sassiest-hummingbird-in-north-america\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sassiest Hummingbird in North America."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus<\/em>). There are only three species of hummingbird in British Columbia, but this one wins the title. These feisty little birds are a measly 3.0 grams of sass. Hummingbirds\u00a0are\u00a0solitary and aggressive; they are constantly in dispute with other birds over territory around feeders and flowers (Sibley, 2003) and will attack intruders sometimes many times their size. The Rufous Hummingbird is known as the most aggressive of all Western North American species. They are long distance migrants, but in the summer months they can be found throughout the Pacific Coast of Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. buzzing around feeders and flower gardens.<\/p>\n

Hummingbirds are unmistakable in the field: aside from being ridiculously cute, they are tiny birds with long bills and a distinctly unique hovering flight. They have exceptionally long primary feathers to facilitate hovering (Sibley, 2003).<\/p>\n

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Gorgeous adult male Rufous Hummingbird showing off his gorget. Retrieved from:\u00a0[link]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A male Rufous Hummingbird in the hand. Photo courtesy Jeremy Rose at the Vancouver Avian Research Centre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The male Rufous Hummingbird has brilliant orange and green feathers and a bright pink bib of iridescent structural feathers, also called a \u2018gorget\u2019. The gorget is used to show off to female hummingbirds and hopefully attract a mate. The male has a rufous tail with dark green and white tips, and both sexes share a white spot behind the eye. The female is orange and green with a patchy distribution of iridescent feathers on the throat. The female has many more green feathers compared to the male\u2019s mostly rufous colouration (Sibley, 2003; Sakai and Ralph, 2007). Immature Rufous Hummingbirds are impossible to tell apart from adult females in the field, but can be distinguished in the hand by looking for bill corrugation. Hummingbirds are born with tiny grooves along their bills, which wear away and become smooth during their first summer; a smooth bill would indicate an older bird (Sakai and Ralph, 2007).<\/p>\n

In British Columbia, the most likely other species of hummingbird that could be confused with a Rufous Hummingbird is the Anna\u2019s Hummingbird (Calypte anna<\/em>). These species can be distinguished by the presence of any rufous feathers; Anna\u2019s Hummingbirds have no rufous colouration and are larger in size. The hummingbird with most similar colouration to the Rufous Hummingbird is the Allen\u2019s Hummingbird (Selaphorus sasin<\/em>), which can be distinguished by the presence of green feathers on the back. However, some Rufous Hummingbirds have green feathers on their back, which can make these birds very difficult to tell apart on their wintering grounds in Mexico and coastal California.<\/p>\n

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An illustration of adult male, adult female and immature Rufous Hummingbirds. Retrieved from: [link]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rufous Hummingbirds make many different calls, the main noise they make being a high, hard chip. They also make a buzzing noise with their wings while in flight (Sibley, 2003). When dive-bombing an intruder to their territory, Rufous Hummingbirds make a distinctive vi vi vi virrr<\/em> sound with their wings (Sibley, 2003). Since describing sounds with text never works, here a couple recordings of noises Rufous hummingbirds typically make:<\/p>\n


\nhttp:\/\/studentblogs.viu.ca\/rufoushummingbird\/files\/2015\/10\/Rufous-Hummingbird-Call.wmv-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n

This is a Rufous Hummingbird call. Retrieved from:\u00a0[link]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/studentblogs.viu.ca\/rufoushummingbird\/files\/2015\/10\/Rufous-Hummingbird-Sounds.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n

These are sounds made by a Rufous Hummingbirds wings and tail during display, while hovering, or while diving. Retrieved from:\u00a0[link]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also\u00a0check out Cornell University\u2019s page on Rufous Hummingbird sounds\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rufous Hummingbirds build tiny cup-shaped nests out of lichen and spidersilk. They lay two eggs per clutch, and nestlings take from 15 to 17 days to fledge (Calder and Healy, 2006). Check out this narrated PBS Nature video of an Anna\u2019s Hummingbird building her nest.<\/p>\n