Allen's Hummingbird

Male Allen's Hummingbird, Orange Co., CA.

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Female Allen's Hummingbird, at its nest. Los Angeles Co., CA

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

Extremely similar in appearance to the widespread Rufous Hummingbird, the Allen's Hummingbird breeds only along a narrow strip of coastal California and southern Oregon.

Description

• Tiny bird, small and compact hummingbird.
• Extensive rusty in most plumages.
• Male with iridescent red throat and shiny green back.

• Size: 9 cm (4 in)
• Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
• Weight: 2-4 g (0.07-0.14 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with red throat; female throat white with a few red feathers. Male extensively orange on body and head, female with green back and head. Male's tail orange with pointed black tips, female's tail orange, green, and black with rounded white tips.

Sound

Does not sing. Calls buzzy; also sharp chips. Wings of adult male make a high, buzzy trill.

Conservation Status

Populations may be declining.

Other Names

Colibri d'Allen (French)
Chuparmirto petirrojo, Zumbador de Allen (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Breeding male and female Allen's Hummingbirds have different habitat preferences. The male sets up a territory overseeing open areas of coastal scrub vegetation or riparian shrubs, where he often perches conspicuously on exposed leafless branches. The female selects nest sites in more densely vegetated areas and forests.
• Two subspecies of Allen's Hummingbirds are recognized. They differ only slightly in appearance, but sedentarius of very southern California is nonmigratory, and the more northerly breeding, slightly smaller sasin spends the winter in Mexico.

• The Allen's Hummingbird is remarkably early migrant compared with most North American birds. Northbound birds may depart on ?spring? migration as early as December and arrive on the ?summer? breeding grounds as early as January. Adult males may begin their southward ?fall? migration in mid-May and arrive on ?winter? grounds as early as August.

Sources used to construct this page:

Mitchell, D. E. 2000. Allen?s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin). In The Birds of North America, No. 501 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.