Allen's Hummingbird

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Earl Horn

Rusty Trump

Earl Horn

On February 26, 2002, I headed to Roswell, GA in Fulton County to band what I thought was going to be a second year male Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). I set up my trap and waited for a few minutes before I heard the first hummingbird chips coming from the backyard. As the bird flew across the yard it appeared very brown and its wings made a whistle or trill. I knew at that time, I was dealing with a male, but was quite surprised when it landed in the rose bush next to the deck and showed off a bright green back! A male Rufous at this time of year should have a rufous back or at least mostly rufous. He promptly went into the trap and was captured. When I took him out of the trap I knew I had a second year male Allen's Hummingbird! He had a green crown, bright green back, rufous rump, and rufous sides. He had an adult tail, which was rufous tipped with black. On his tail, I could see the outer rectrix was narrower than the many Rufous I had banded earlier in the year. The second rectrix from the center of the tail was slightly tapered and did not have the notch that a male Rufous would have. His gorget was mostly complete, but was still molting under the chin. He was just about finished with his first prebasic molt, with only one primary feather to go, the ninth primary. I measured, weighed, and fitted him with a band. Then after a quick photo session, I released him in the backyard. He was soon feeding back at the feeder. This bird was first noticed at the feeders in late October or early November of 2001 and was last seen on March 10, 2002.

In the picture of the wing and on the photo submitted by Earl Horn you can see the pointed tip of the outer primary. This tip creates the wing trill for the males of the Selasphorus species of hummingbirds. The Selasphorus genus includes the Rufous, Broad-tailed (Selasphorus platycercus), and Allen's Hummingbirds. The wing trill is used during courtship as the males dive and display to females. Females and immature males do not have this little tip on the outer primary and therefore do not have a distinctive wing trill.

The Georgia Ornithological Society's Checklist & Records Committee accepted this record as the 7th record of this species in Georgia.

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