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Re: Hummingbird near Columbia, SC



Very interesting.  Most of what you mentioned points
towards Calliope or Broad-tailed.  But the wings
extending slightly beyond tail tip screams Calliope!

Couple of questions:  

Is the rufous near the tail very noticible or is it an
almost-invisible bit of rufous on the very side of the
folded tail? 

Is there a gray smudge extending behind the white spot
behind the bird's eye?  If so, how much gray and is it
wide or slim?

Is the bill of normal thickness for a hummingbird or
super duper needle-thin?

Is there a thin white line above and parallel to the
bill in front of the bird's eye?

Is the white throat spotted with noticible tiny dots
or a super fine mist of nearly indistinguishable
specks?

Finally:  Is the bird in a birder-friendly/accessible
spot? :-)

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC


--- Jerrold Griggs <griggs@math.sc.edu> wrote:
> 
> Sorry to be posting yet again since rejoining the
> list!  
> I spotted another bird this morning at the feeders
> in the Irmo, SC, area--
> a Hummingbird!  I'm afraid that, growing up in L.A.,
> I'm used to looking for 
> "interesting" birds and screening out Hummers, even
> in winter.  But my brain 
> was working today, if slowly, and it registered that
> there was a Hummer there 
> near the Finches and Pine Warbler feeding nearby at
> the same pole.  
> 
> This bird appears to be quite small, with a green
> back, white throat,
> and pale buffy underneath.  There is some rufous
> color down near the tail
> when it is perched.  Most stricking is that the
> wings are so obvious
> compared to the tail.  I would say the wingtips
> extend slightly beyond the
> tail.  Underneath it has a little white fluff
> (feather?) that stands out.
> 
> It perches in an azalea bush, out in the open in the
> sun, about 4'
> off the ground and just across from the feeder about
> 15' away.  All
> indications suggest to me a female Calliope
> Hummingbird.
> 
> I haven't had a good look at the legs and feet yet. 
> Could it be banded?
> I know there was a Calliope in Lexington, SC (in the
> same county) earlier 
> this winter, but I don't know any details about that
> bird.
> 
> It may have been coming for days, since the fluid
> level has been dropping,
> but it certainly didn't show up during the snowstorm
> last week.
> Unfortunately, my photographic equipment is
> primitive, though I did try
> taking some photos through the scope.  I will scan
> and post them if they
> come out well.
> 
> Jerry Griggs      j@sc.edu      (803)407-2706
> Columbia, SC
> 
> 
> 


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