SPECIES: Broadtail Hummingbird, Selasphorus platycerus (Swainson, 1827)
DISTINCTIONS: Broad tail, relatively shorter bill, a white eye ring (Figs. A,B), and making a trilling noise as it flies; immature males similar to females, sometimes with a few red neck feathers (Figs. C,D).
DATE, TIME: 21 August 2022, 3:41pm
DISTRIBUTION: Breeds in highlands from western USA and Western Canada; winters in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
LOCATION: 280 Private Drive, 1708 Highway, US-84, Abiqiui, New Mexico 87510
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 36.33112, -106.47295
ELEVATION: 1979 m (6493 ft)
SIMILAR SPECIES: The Rufus Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin, 1788) also has a red throat and is very common in New Mexico. The male has red on more of the head and around the eye and a bright orange back and belly. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris (Linnaeus, 1758), male has a red throat, not extending to the eye, green to dark head, green body, forked-pointed tail; females are more blandly colored, white to grayish throat with small broken lines or spots, white breast, rounded tail with tips of outer 3 feathers with white ends. It is a rare vagrant in New Mexico.
COLLECTION: photographs only, by EHW.
BEHAVOR: Undisturbed by crowds of people passing nearby. Very aggressively, defended hummingbird feeders.
STATUS: stable and widespread
OBSERVERS: Ernest H. Williams, Jr. [4,5,7,8] and Lucy Bunkley-Williams[4,6,,7,9]
REERENCES:
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2022. First confirmed iNaturalist locality record for the Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Selasphorus platycerus (Swainson), at Ghost Ranch, Abiqiui, New Mexico, and surrounding river valley. iNaturalist #142551774, ResearchGate, 18 November 2022 (open access) [718]
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and condensed. The entire, original text is in our available reprint [718]. [2]Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [5]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [6]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [7]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [8]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; cell 239-227-3645, ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [9]Cell 787-467-2179, e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x
Figure A. Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird with red throat and green head and body
Figure B. Broad-tailed Hummingbird male different angle changes apparent colors
Figure C. Immature male with developing red throat
Figure D. Same immature male with developing red throat
Update: I put up different photos that show white base of feathers or at least very light gray. I have never seen a raven like this. It really struck me as a different species. I photographed othe ravens today as well as a crow and this seemed different. Feathers appeared to be molting or damaged in some cases
I posted multiple photos because I really want to get this right. This is clearly thinner then the average common raven. It appeared to be somewhat smaller as well. Both this app and the Merlin app identify as a raven and not a crow. So the question is - is this a Chihuahuan Raven or an emaciated Common Raven? Thought?
Head only, found in livestock shelter. Looks to be juvenile, possibly roadrunner, despite the poor condition and color of the remaining head feathers. Any insights to ID would be appreciated!