Nancy Newfield, one of the foremost authorities on hummingbird identification, writes:
The bird is probably an immature male, based on the amount of rusty coloring around the face. A young male should also have a rusty colored rump and the central rectrices will predominately be rusty as well. The rump of a female should be green 99.9% of the time. Her central rectrices will be predominately green with a bit of rufous near the base. Most adult females have a central spot of iridescent red in the center of the throat. This can be more than half the throat or just a few red feathers. Immature females never have as much stippling and iridescence as this bird has. Details of color of the back, rump, and central rectrices are not viewable in the images, so your notes might be helpful here. It is impossible to determine whether the bird is a Rufous Hummingbird or an Allen's Hummingbird from the available evidence. The rusty undertail coverts clearly eliminate Broad-tailed Hummingbird from consideration. Rustiness around the face is often noted as a clue that an immature male Selasphorus may be an Allen's, and the rustiness of the flanks and shading of green on the back seem deeper on Allen's, but true identification should rely on more concrete criteria. My experience with Allen's is considerably less than my experience with Rufous, so I would not hazard a guess with the images available. If the bird has rusty colored feathers on its upper back, it is clearly a Rufous. If the back is entirely green, Allen's is indeed a possibility. Images of the rectrices are too blurry to permit detailed analysis, but the individual feathers appear to be a bit wider and longer than usual for Allen's. To me, the tail of an Allen's looks as if it were sharpened in a pencil sharpener. As for this bird's timing of feeding, I note that wintering hummers here in Louisiana often close up shop by mid afternoon. Hope this helps. Though it is not particularly satisfying, unless all identifying details can be documented, it is advisable to call it by the genus Selasphorus rufus/sasin. It's still dark outside. If the bird turns up today, I will post as soon as I notice it. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson