Calling All Birders: I am stumped on this one. Here are two shots taken in SE Arizona. At first I thought female hummingbird but as I processed the photos I am thinking it is a...

safeman

I am stumped on this one. Here are two shots taken in SE Arizona. At first I thought female hummingbird but as I processed the photos I am thinking it is a sub-adult male something. All help appreciated.

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alwaysdaddyprincess Loc: MI

Aloha,

I am a newbie birder. I have a great book and app. I use this app most of the times:

http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

I download your pitcure for the app. I need to upload the app to incudle more areas. Be right back.

unlucky2 Loc: Hemet Ca.

IMO Broad-billed Hummingbird page 235 Sibley Birds West . Range is correct, bill shape is correct, auriculars would seem to support.

safeman wrote:

I am stumped on this one. Here are two shots taken in SE Arizona. At first I thought female hummingbird but as I processed the photos I am thinking it is a sub-adult male something. All help appreciated.

alwaysdaddyprincess Loc: MI

Aloha,

I used two other different sources:

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/broad-billed-hummingbird

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Broad-billed_Hummingbird/overview

By the way, Kudos on your pictures!

safeman

Agree. Sub-adult male Broad-billed Hummingbird. While watching the bird's activities just didn't feel right but the pictures confirm it. Thank you both

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

If it looks like a hummingbird and acts like a hummingbird then it is a hummingbird; a couple of really nice photos of a hummingbird.

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

safeman wrote:

I am stumped on this one. Here are two shots taken in SE Arizona. At first I thought female hummingbird but as I processed the photos I am thinking it is a sub-adult male something. All help appreciated.

Lovely flying gem.

FrumCA

I use the Merlin Bird ID app as well and I don't think it's a broad-billed hummingbird. The ID shows all variants with the exception of the immature female as having an orange/reddish color at the base of their bill. Your photo does not show this. And the colors of the immature female don't match your photo. The closest ID I can come up with is the Cuban Emerald but I'm not sure if the range of the Cuban reaches to the Southwest. This is a tricky one for sure!!

alwaysdaddyprincess Loc: MI

unlucky2 wrote:

IMO Broad-billed Hummingbird page 235 Sibley Birds West . Range is correct, bill shape is correct, auriculars would seem to support.

Whoops. Did not look before I post. Sorry.

alwaysdaddyprincess Loc: MI

safeman wrote:

Agree. Sub-adult male Broad-billed Hummingbird. While watching the bird's activities just didn't feel right but the pictures confirm it. Thank you both

Mahalo! I truly like learning.

alwaysdaddyprincess Loc: MI

FrumCA wrote:

I use the Merlin Bird ID app as well and I don't think it's a broad-billed hummingbird. The ID shows all variants with the exception of the immature female as having an orange/reddish color at the base of their bill. Your photo does not show this. And the colors of the immature female don't match your photo. The closest ID I can come up with is the Cuban Emerald but I'm not sure if the range of the Cuban reaches to the Southwest. This is a tricky one for sure!!

According to this site:
http://sites.psu.edu/birdsofcuba/birds-of-cuba/cuban-emerald/

The cuban emerald does not travel. It does look the bird.

I use the apps to learn bird sounds and pronunciation.Otherwise, I prefer books. Regardless, I see it time to look at other apps. Only because I want to see if there an app that explains the differences without costing a fortune.

FrumCA

alwaysdaddyprincess wrote:

According to this site:
http://sites.psu.edu/birdsofcuba/birds-of-cuba/cuban-emerald/

The cuban emerald does not travel. It does look the bird.

I use the apps to learn bird sounds and pronunciation.Otherwise, I prefer books. Regardless, I see it time to look at other apps. Only because I want to see if there an app that explains the differences without costing a fortune.

Thanks for that info.