 |
| C Hummer taken from 2 feet away |
Here in
Las Vegas NV we have two species that stay with us all winter – the Costa’s
Hummingbird and the Anna’s Hummingbird. Even though we usually have at least
one week, or more, of below freezing temperatures, they survive the winter with
the help of feeders.
 |
| Anna's male, taken by a reader, used with permission |
When
you look at pictures of hummers in the field guides they look so dissimilar,
but seeing them in real life is a whole different story. The field guides use
their best photos with the best light. The color of the gorget shows up well.
When you see your hummer it may have entirely the wrong light on it. The gorget
just looks dark; details are hard to see at best. And then, of course, the hummer seldom stays
long in one spot, so your look is fleeting.
The
more details you are aware of the better your chances of identifying the adult
male hummer. The chances of getting a good identification of immature birds are
slim, and females can be just as frustrating.
After
hours of looking and several really good photos, I feel a little more confident
about differentiating between the Anna’s adult male and the Costa’s adult male
that I see in my neighborhood.
Let’s
look at the similarities that exist between the Anna’s and Costa’s. These males
are the only ones in our area that have colored heads. The color on the gorget
is repeated on the top of the head. Our other summering hummers have green
heads. This fact helps to eliminate choices in the summer, but doesn’t do us
any good in the winter.
The
most obvious thing to look for is the shape of the gorget. The Costa’s gorget
has very long side feathers that extend way down onto his shoulders. Behind his
gorget at the sides and bottom there are long ‘hairy,’ perfectly white,
feathers.
Anna’s
also has a gorget that extends to the side, but it is not so long, nor are the
feathers themselves so long. The feathers next to the gorget are small and
gray.
Both
birds have a white patch at the corner of the eye. The Costa’s patch joins with
the white feathers along the side, while the Anna’s patch is cut off by more
gorget feathers.
The
color of the gorget differs. While both will simply look dark in bad light, and
have a rosy look in other lights, good light tells another story. Anna’s gorget
is red-pink, yet if you see it in bright light it will look golden. Costa’s, on
the other hand, looks purple and sometimes even shades towards the blue.
A look
at their breasts shows yet other differences. The Costa’s is speckled with a
definite white stripe down the front and a green hue on the sides. Anna’s has a
scalloped pattern on the feathers, no white stripe and tends towards the grey
with just a hint of green.
Their
tails also are different. Costa’s tail is shorter than the wing tips; Ann’s tail
is longer than the wing tips.
Even
with all these things to look at, there will be days when identification is
iffy at best. So I wish you good luck and good light in your efforts at
hummingbird identification.
