Winged Jewels of Winter

Western Hummingbirds in Louisiana

Did you know that some species of hummingbirds spend the winter in the southern United States? Yes, it's true. In backyards and habitats all over the south species such as Rufous, Allen's, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Calliope, Buff-bellied and several others migrate from their homes in the western U.S. to places in Louisiana and many other southern states. Through the years, we've been lucky enough to host six different species of hummingbirds during the winter. When we were living in Baton Rouge, our yard was full of Rufous hummingbirds from November through March. This lens will tell you more about being a winter hummingbird host and also about the different species that you may see.

There are several species of hummingbirds that spend the winter in Louisiana and other southern states.

Hummingbird Watching - a Year-round Hobby in the South

In the southern United States, including Louisiana where we live, fall and winter often brings prized winged visitors to yards and habitats. They are the western hummingbirds. Since the 1990's, when we lived in Baton Rouge, we regularly hosted a variety of species of hummingbirds during the winter. Our list to date includes: Rufous, Allen's, Black-chinned, Calliope, Buff-bellied, Broad-tailed and of course Ruby-throated. There are sightings of many other species, in other yards here in South Louisiana and throughout the south. The normal winter home for most individuals of these western species is Mexico, but for some reason some choose to spend the winter in the southern United States. Most hummingbird enthusiasts leave their hummingbird feeders up and filled with fresh sugar water (4 to 1 or 3 to 1 water to white sugar ratio) year round. They also plant their gardens with hardy plants that bloom at different times during the year, some even in winter. A few really obsessive enthusiasts have elaborate movable "greenhouses" consisting of large sheets of plastic on rolls that they can roll out over their blooming plants if a freeze is expected and then roll back when the ever changing weather gets warm again.

In Louisiana, a hummingbird is considered to be a "winter" hummingbird if it is observed after November 15 through early spring (March) when the Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to their breeding grounds here in the United States.

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I'd like to share some photos, facts and stories about some of the beautiful little birds that have graced us with a winter visit. It is indeed an event each time it happens and is announced on all the hummingbird forums. The local banders are contacted so that they can verify and band the bird. It's not uncommon for birds to return year after year and the band assures their identification plus the data that is collected contributes to the study that the USGS Banding Lab is coordinating while tracking the movements of some of our smallest birds.

I have included only the species that we have hosted during the winter. There are several others that also spend the winter in the south, but have not graced us with a visit. I will try to include some of these at a later date.

Rufous Hummingbirds

Selasphorus rufus

Rufous are the most common of the wintering hummingbirds. In Baton Rouge, we normally had 5-6 Rufous each winter. They are bold and attractive little birds with a angry sounding tsk call. Rufous seem to be scolding you for disturbing them. The males are mostly cinnamon colored with an orange-red gorget (throat) and the females have green backs, with pale cinnamon sides, dark red in their tail feathers and many have a few red-orange feathers in a circle on their throat.

Our first winter hummingbird was an immature Rufous and we got to see him molt into the beautiful colors of an adult male. Dave Patton banded him and most of the other wintering hummingbirds at our house in Baton Rouge.

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Allen's Hummingbirds

Selasphorus sasin

Allen's and Rufous are so much alike (especially the females) that it takes an expert to tell them apart. The males usually have more green on their backs than the male Rufous and the Allen's tail feathers are shorter, thinner and more pointed than those of the Rufous. We hosted one immature male Allen's in Baton Rouge.

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Allen's Hummingbird on Wiki

The 'Allens Hummingbird', Selasphorus sasin, is a species of hummingbird.

The Allens Hummingbird is a small bird, with mature adults reaching only 3 to 3½ inches in length. The male Allen's has a green back and forehead, with rust-colored rufous flanks, rump, and tail. The male's throat is also an iridescent orange-red. The female and immature Allen's Hummingbirds are similarly colored, but lack the iridescent throat patch, instead having a series of speckles on their throat. Females are mostly green, featuring rufous colors only on the tail, which also has white tips. The female and immature Allen's Hummingbirds are so similar to the female Rufous Hummingbird that the two are almost indistinguishable in the field. Both species' breeding seasons and ranges are common factors used to differentiate between the two species in a particular geographical area.

The Allen's Hummingbird is common only in the brushy woods, gardens, and meadows of coastal California from Santa Barbara north, and a minuscule portion of lower Oregon. The nominate race of Allen's Hummingbird, S.s. sasin is migratory, and winters along the Pacific coast of central Mexico. A second race S.s. sedentarius is a permanent resident on the Channel Islands off southern California. This population colonized the Palos Verdes Peninsula of Los Angeles County in the 1960s and has since spread over much of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

The courtship flight of the male Allen's Hummingbird is a frantic back and forth flight arc of about 25 feet similar to the motion of a swinging pendulum, followed by a high-speed dive from about 100 feet. The male is also highly aggressive and territorial. Hot-tempered despite its diminutive stature, a male Allen's Hummingbird will chase any other males from its territory, as well as any other hummingbird species, and they have even been known to attack and rout predatory birds several times larger than themselves such as kestrels and hawks.

The Allen's Hummingbird constructs its nest out of plant fibers, down, and weed stems, coating the nest with lichens to give it structure. The nest is placed above ground on a tree branch or the stalk or stem of a plant. The female lays two white eggs, which she will incubate for 15 to 17 days. The young will leave the nest about three weeks after hatching. The mother will continue to feed the fledglings for several more weeks, then the young are left to fend for themselves.

Category: File - :Allen's Hummingbird - FWS.jpg|left|thumb|Allen's Hummingbird feeding

Like all hummingbirds, the Allen's Hummingbird's high rate of metabolism requires it to feed frequently, about every 10 to 15 minutes. The Allen's Hummingbird drinks nectar from flowers, as well as eating any small insects it finds crawling around the flower blossom, which provide it with needed protein.

The common name commemorates Charles Andrew Allen (1841-1930), American collector and taxidermist.

A hybrid between this species and Anna's Hummingbird has been described as Floresi's Hummingbird, "Selasphorus" floresii (Ridgway, 1909; Taylor, 1909).Category: File - :AllenHummingbird.jpg|thumb|right

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Broad-tailed hummingbird

Selasphorus platycercus

Broad-tailed hummingbirds look something like Ruby-throated hummingbirds, except the tail is much broader and has dark rusty-red bands at the base of the tail feathers. The male's gorget is more rosy red than crimson. Their call sounds like a distant Cardinal. Female Broad-tails look a lot like female Rufous as they are both Selasphorus.

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Hummingbirds of North America

This is my favorite hummingbird field guide. The photographs are very good and the way that it is organized makes it easy to find what you are looking for.

Hummingbirds of North America: The Photographic Guide

by: Steve Howell

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 11/27/2009)

Calliope Hummingbird

Stellula calliope

Calliope hummingbirds are the smallest of all hummingbirds that breed in the U.S. They are very round with a short neck and tail. Some say they look like a feathered ping-pong ball with a head. Males are quite beautiful with bright green above and creamy white below and a wine red to reddish purple iridescent gorget. Females are similar (without the beautiful gorget) and have pale cinnamon sides. A feisty little female spent the whole winter with us in Covington in 2002. Calliopes are usually quiet, almost secretive birds, but our female acted more like a Rufous. She was banded by Linda Beall.

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Calliope Photos on Flickr

CALLIOPE ? HUMMINGBI...

Calliope Hummingbird...

Calliope Hummingbird

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Field Guide to N.A. Hummingbirds

This is also a great field guide with many color photos showing the heads, tails, wings, etc. of the different species.

A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guides)

by: Sheri Williamson

Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 11/27/2009)

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Buff bellied Hummingbird in Louisiana during Winter Amazilia yucatanensis

Buff-bellied hummingbirds are larger than a Ruby-throated and much more colorful. They are easily recognized by their red bill with a black tip, green to turquoise bib, buff belly and large copper colored tail. They are aggressive and territorial and can be heard making noises that sound like arcing electricity. In Baton Rouge, one showed up right before Christmas in 2000 and stayed until almost spring. It was banded by Dave Patton.

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Hummingbird Gardens

In order to sustain winter hummingbirds you must have food in the form of nectar and insects available. Hummingbird feeders will help, but a garden with some hardy, nectar rich flowers and plenty of tiny insects is a must.This is one of my favorite books about hummingbird gardens.

Hummingbird Gardens

by: Nancy Newfield, Barbara Nielsen

Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009)

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Black-chinned Hummingbirds are a little larger than Ruby-throats. The females look almost identical in the field. The males, however, are easier to identify because of their deep purple gorget feathers. They sound a lot like Ruby-throateds, too. In flight, Black-chinneds pump their tail, almost constantly. We had a couple stay with us. An immature male (photo of him drinking from the strawberry feeder top of the page) in Baton Rouge and an unusual female here in Covington. The male was banded by Dave Patton and the female by Linda Beall.

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Female Black Chinned Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

The Ruby-throated hummingbird is our only breeding hummingbird, east of the Rockies. Sometimes immature birds, probably hatched in the northern states, will spend the winter in Covington and other parts of South Louisiana. For more information about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Hummingbird gardening, visit our "Hummingbirds and Gardening for Them" lens that is featured below.

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Hummingbird Gardening

This lens is about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds as well as hummingbird gardening.

Hummingbirds and Gardening for Them

Who wouldn't want to attract hummingbirds, nature's flying jewels, to their yard? Hummingbird feeders will help bring them into view, but to really sustain them it is necessary to plant for them. Planting a Hummingbird Garden full of nectar rich flow...

HummZinger 16 oz Feeder

HummZinger Excel, 16 oz Hanging Feeder
When customers have concerns about hard-to-clean nectar feeders, show them Aspects' HummZinger line. The bright red cover attracts hummers from a distance and removes easily so the bowl can be cleaned quickly and thoroughly.

Banding Hummingbirds

People who band hummingbirds must go through an apprentice program with a veteran (permitted by the USGS) master bander. Each time a bird is banded, the number is recorded along with the location, measurements and description of each bird. All this data is reported to the USGS banding lab, so that whenever the bird is recaptured, the band number and data is reviewed and the original bander is notified of the recapture.

We are extremely fortunate to have a good friend of ours, Linda Beall, who is a licensed master bander living right here in Covington. Linda's Humbander website is filled with information about banding both winter and breeding season hummingbirds.

Our Hummers in the Habitat page also gives more information about banding winter hummingbirds with photos showing the whole process. More photos and information can be found on our lens, Mizell's Hummingbird and Butterfly Festival

Binoculars and Cameras at Amazon

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Good binoculars make all the difference in bird identification. If you want to take good photos of birds, you need a camera with a minimum 12X optical zoom. The Canon S5IS is what we used to take many of the photos that you see in this lens.

Winged Jewels of Winter

Western Hummingbirds in Louisiana

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Hummingbird Watching - a Year-round Hobby in the South

Rufous Hummingbirds

Allen's Hummingbirds

Allen's Hummingbird on Wiki

Broad-tailed hummingbird

Hummingbirds of North America

Calliope Hummingbird

Calliope Photos on Flickr

Field Guide to N.A. Hummingbirds

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Hummingbird Gardens

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Hummingbird Gardening

HummZinger 16 oz Feeder

Banding Hummingbirds

Binoculars and Cameras at Amazon

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Naturally Native Hummingbirds at Zazzle

WWF Hummingbird Calendar

Hummingbirds on Amazon

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Hummingbird Haven - Hundreds of Hummers

Hooked on Hummingbirds DVD

Hummingbird YouTube Videos

Hummingbirds on eBay

Other Hummingbird and Planting for Birds Lenses

Please don't hum by without leaving us a note.

Tchefuncte Hummingbird Hill Habitat Diary

Our Blog

Best of Naturally Native Squids Blog

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Winter Hummingbird Blog Posts

Links to More Hummingbirds

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Some More Good Hummingbird Links

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