female hummingbird

[Michael Johnson <mikemerej at yahoo dot com>]

On Thursday, near the the Lake Solitude trailhead at
Brighton, my friend and I observed a female
hummingbird on a nest.  We got extremely close looks,
but I am terrible with female hummingbirds.  Due to
its small size and short bill, we narrowed it down to
Calliope or Rufous.  When perched on a branch near its
nest, the wingtips reached the tip of the tail - a
mark of the Calliope.  There was some, though not
extensive, rufous on the tail, so that didn't really
help much.  The tail shape seemed rather short and
almost concave - which again points toward Calliope. 
However, it did have a reddish spot in the middle of
its throat - a mark of the Rufous.  Do Calliopes ever
show this mark?  Finally, range maps list Calliope as
a nester but Rufous as a migrant in this area.  Do
Rufous Hummingbirds nest here?  Anyway, if anyone has
any input on how to tell these apart, I'd appreciate
it.  I know it's impossible to identify without
actually seeing the bird (sorry no camera), but any
ideas would be helpful.  Thank you.

Mike Johnson


		
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