Scott,

Rufous Hummingbird males with solid green backs and full gorgets have been
reported. George Gerdts photographed one near Seattle displaying on
territory some years back (note with photo published in Washington Birds,
the WOS journal). George's photo shows the spread tail clearly; you can see
that the shape of the 2nd rectrix is typical of Rufous, not Allen's. It
might have been a hybrid, of course, though I do not believe any hybrids
have been described in the literature. There is besides one valid Allen's
Hummingbird record for Washington, a male collected in Seattle in 1895! It
checks out.

Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com



At 10:46 PM 3/14/98 -0800, you wrote:
> We had out first regular visits by Rufous Hummingbirds at our feeders
>today. Last week there was a very brief visit by a female, then nothing.
>Today there were both a male and female visiting regularly, hopefully it
>means that they are nesting.
> I also saw briefly what may have been a male Allen's. I only saw it for a
>second, but there was an almost complete red bib, green back and rufous on
>the sides. It seems that a male would be in alternate-plumage by now and
>there was entirely too much red to be a female (I think). Any thoughts?
>Scott Hall
>Silverdale (Kitsap Co.)
>whall at silverlink.net
>
>