Rufous Hummingbird

The fiery colour of this small hummingbird matches its temperament. It is a common fall migrant in the Rocky Mountains, with a pugnacious nature that makes it a less-than-welcome guest at some feeding stations. The Rufous Hummingbird breeds farther north than any other hummingbird and travels phenomenal distances each year between its summer and winter homes. This was likely the first hummingbird encountered by humans who crossed the Bering land bridge approximately 20,000 years ago. It breeds from southern Alaska and southwestern Yukon, much of British Columbia and the northwest corner of the US. It winters in southwestern Mexico. It is a rare but an increasing visitor to flower gardens.

Adult Male (spring/summer)

Rufous head and small white spot behind black eye. Chin and throat (gorget) are red-gold iridescent with contrasting white breast. Belly and flanks rufous and undertail coverts rufous with white flecks. Nape, back and uppertail coverts are rufous. Scapulars are green and lower wing black. Tail is rufous with black tips.

Adult Female (spring/summer)

Crown, nape, back and rump greenish gold. Throat is white with greenish spotting, usually with center red spot. White spot behind the eye. Breast and belly are white; flanks, sides and undertail coverts rufous. Two central tail feathers are green-brown at base with black tips; rufous at base of other tail feathers with black, then white tips on outer 3 feathers.

Juvenile

Similar to female with dull rufous sides.

General:

Small hummingbird with nearly straight black bill. Length: 7-9cm. Wing: 11cm. Weight: 2-5grams.

Behaviour:

The Rufous Hummingbird is highly aggressive and territorial, even during migration. It regularly drives larger hummingbirds from nectar sources. Visits a variety of plants with short to medium-length flowers, including columbines, fireweed, skyrocket, bee balm, Indian paintbrushes, larkspurs, honeysuckles, red currant, salmonberry, and Rocky Mountain bee plant. Takes sap from wells drilled by sapsuckers. Early arrivals on breeding grounds feed mainly on insects until flowers begin to bloom.

Habitat:

Breeds in forest openings, edges, and brushy second growth in conifer and mixed conifer-hardwood forests, including coastal temperate rain forest. Winters in a variety of habitats in western and southern Mexico, from scrubby second growth and thorn forest to high oak and pine-oak forests. Northern wintering birds prefer gardens with feeders, winter-blooming flowers, and dense vegetation for shelter.

Information:

The Rufous Hummingbird is an important pollinator in the cool cloudy climate of the Pacific Northwest, where cold-blooded insect pollinators are at a disadvantage. No subspecies are described. Its closest relative is Allen’s Hummingbird, so close that some authors have suggested lumping them into a single species. Adult males are highly variable in amount of green iridescence on upper back, from almost immaculate rufous to a scattering of green feathers to entirely green with rufous rump and upper tail coverts. Females tend to acquire more iridescence in gorget with each molt. Gorgets of older females may be almost entirely orange-red. The nest is a tiny cup made of lichens; spider webs and other fine materials and is built by the female. 2-3 tiny white eggs are laid.

Similar species:

Allen’s Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Conservation Status:

Listed as Least Concern. Population numbers are regarded as secure but Breeding Bird Survey indicated slow decline.

Capture Rates:

Common in relatively high numbers at Colony Farms, Rufous Hummingbird capture rate occurs from April – August. It peaks in July corresponding to juvenile dispersal. This hummingbird migrates long distances south for the winter as indicated by zero capture rates from October – March.

Molt Summary:

PF: HY/SY complete; PB: AHY/ASY complete; PA absent.

Separating Rufous from Allen’s Hummingbirds

Allen’s Hummingbird (ALHU) only breed along a narrow strip of coastal California and southern Oregon and are very difficult to separate from Rufous Hummingbirds (RUHU). Unlike passerines hummingbirds have only 10 rectrices (numbered centrifugally from inside out) and in RUHU r2 has a more distinct notch than in ALHU as can be seen in the photo below.

These corrugations are very obvious when viewed under magnification as in the super-macro photos below.

In the first 5-9 months after fledging the bill hardens and these grooves or corrugations are lost due to wear and the hardening process, the bill becoming smooth and hard as in the 3 photos of adult males below.

NA Hummingbirds have 10 primaries (the tenth full in length), 6 secondaries and 10 retrices.

In addition to bill corrugations, RUHU can be reliably aged and sexed by differences in the shape and width of primary 10 (p10 – the outermost primary), and by the pattern of the central retrices (see below).

The following photos illustrate the shape of P10 by age and sex.

P10 is broader and blunter in hatch year RUHU as in the photo below.

P10 averages narrower and and more curved in after hatch year (AHY) females.

P10 is very narrow and curved at the tip in adult males.

Sexing HY Rufous Hummingbirds

In HY males the throat is heavily marked with condensed spots with several to may iridescent orange-red feathers.

In HY females the throat in less heavily marked and the spotting less condensed, often with very limited, pale spotting as in the photo below, occasionally with a few iridescent orange-red feathers but always confined to the centre.

The central retrices of hatch year (HY) males have substantial rufous at the base while those of after hatch year (AHY) males (photo below right) are almost entirely rufous, narrower and more pointed and the outer retrices (r3-r5) are usually without white tips.

The central retrices of hatch year (HY) females are broader and primarily green, without rufous or with a small amount o rufous limited to the base of the feathers. R3-R5 are usually tipped white, the outermost rectrix relatively broad.

The central rectrices of adult (AHY) females average narrower than adult (AHY) males with greater amounts of rufous but always less than adult (AHY) males.

The central rectrices of adult (AHY) males are primarily or totally rufous with blackish tips.

The gorgets of hummingbirds contain highly iridescent feathers which are among the most specialized feathers in all bird species. It’s not pigments that give the feathers colour but the refracted light falling at certain angles on the gorget.

Only a portion of each feather is modified for iridescence but the overlapping of adjacent feathers creates the unbroken colour effect of a single block of feathers as can be seen in the photos below of these adult (AHY) male RUHU with completely orange-red gorgets and with the “tails” partially elongated.

Adult (AHY) females have a few bronze markings and scattered iridescent orange-red feathers, usually confined to the centre, and not elongated at the sides.