Sunday, January 27, 2013

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, San Marino, California, hopping off of a perch on a large Aloe species. This cute little hummingbird is quite a singer. However, it is known for its deep-swooping courtship ritual that the males do in mid-air, creating a "verrrrip" sound as the air moves through their feathers at high speeds. It can be identified, relative to the similar tawny orange colored rufous hummingbird, by the irridescent green patch of feathers on its upper back.

2 comments:

Lithopsland said...

What a cute bird! Great photo! Best wishes! :)

Wayward Hawaiian said...

Thank you! I could have watched them for hours, as fascinating as they are, buzzing from flower to flower and whizzing through the tiniest spaces between branches.