Hey Brad and Ryan and Tweeters,
Well, I have to eat crow (but not literally, thank goodness!),
I saw the hummingbird again, and I mis-identified it earlier.
It is a Male Anna's.

Now, How, may you ask, did I screw THAT up?
Well, I learned something new about iridescence in hummingbirds.
At JUST the right viewing angle between me, the sun, and the bird, the iridescence on the top of the Anna's does not show at all. All I saw was the green on the top of the head. But the chin appeared very dark.
The second time I saw the bird in a similar pose, showing the green head as it drank, it turned and flashed me as it took off. Showing that brilliant purple color all across it's head and neck.

Sure faked me out! My apologies for the erroneous identification.

Guy McWethy
Renton, WA
mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com


--- On Fri, 5/7/10, Guy McWethy <lguy_mcw at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Guy McWethy <lguy_mcw at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: Black-chinned Hummingbird
> To: "Brad Waggoner" <wagtail at sounddsl.com>
> Cc: "Ryan Merrill" <rjm284 at gmail.com>
> Date: Friday, May 7, 2010, 9:32 AM
> Hey Brad,
> Watched the Hummingbird from about 7 feet away, for about
> 3-4 minutes, thru the kitchen window, under good lighting
> conditions.
> I had great comparitive looks between it and my resident
> pairs of both Rufous and Anna's.
> Bill was noticeably longer.? Body was longer and
> thinner than either Rufous or Anna's.? No rufous
> coloring on sides.? Top of head was all green.? I
> never saw the Purple Gorget, but the underside of the chin
> was all dark, ending along a sharp line with the
> breast.? Obvious demarcation of dark chin with green
> head, extending about straight back from the beak.
> Dark chin and green head were very obvious, and not like my
> resident Anna's male.
> I did not see it this morning, but I only had about 15
> minutes to watch (during which time both my resident pairs
> showed up at the feeder).? I will dedicate some time
> this evening to watching, and will try to get some
> pics.? Will keep you posted if I see it again.
> Give me a shout if you have more specific questions, but
> these are the details that really registered.

> Guy McWethy
> Renton, WA
> mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com
>