Tuesday, 27 August 2019

[cobirds] Sex change

The Calliope Hummingbird pic I posted from just e of Grandview Cemetery today is probably a young male rather than a young female like I stated.  Dave Steingraeber, who has an extensive hummingbird feeding operation on the southwest side of Horsetooth Reservoir, extensive experience, and an extensive bird literature collection, is the one who suggested this change.  Mostly this is based on how the rows of spots which contain the few pink gorget feathers match the rows of elongated "streamers" one sees on an adult male, and also some statements that the beginnings of color on the throats of male can be simply round feathers and not necessarily elongated ones.  There is a fairly good illustration of this in the 7th edition of National Geo field guide.  To refresh your memory:

                                                         

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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