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 Adult Male… www.usgs.gov |
 Female at Nest with Young… © Marguerite Gregory – California Academy of Sciences |
 nnovative location – pretty smart!… © 2006 Angela Hyder – calphotos.berkeley.edu |
| For the rest of the profile… | ||
Possible hybrid of a Costa’s Hummingbird and a Lucifer Hummingbird…
A group of birders spotted what looks like a hybrid cross between a Costa’s Hummingbird and a Lucifer Hummingbird in the Huachuca Mountains of southeast Arizona.
Adult Male Costa's Hummingbird x Lucifer Hummingbird Hybrid (Copyright www.funbirdingtours.com)
Here’s an excerpt from an article at the FunBirdingTours.com giving more details of this remarkable sighting…
Most interesting was a LUCIFER x COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD hybrid. It was, as you’d expect, somewhere between the two.
It was the general size and shape of Lucifer, although perhaps a little squatter. The bill was long and slightly down-curved, but not as long or as down-curved as a regular Lucifer. It had a long tail, like a Lucifer and unlike anything else you’d see in Arizona.
On the Costa’s front, it had a shorter and more flared gorget than a Lucifer, with some purple color extending onto the forehead and ear coverts. The obvious white breast stood out, and there was no discernible rufous coloring on the flanks. An intriguing and instructive bird, well worth a look.
Wouldn’t you say this little hybrid Costa’s Hummingbird got the best of both parents!
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An adult female Costa’s Hummingbird preening her feathers…
Do you suppose this little Costa’s Hummingbird gal is getting ready for a date?
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Costa’s Hummingbird 3199 16 03 2009West Wetlands Yuma AZ.
Female Costa’s Hummingbird sitting in the shade, resting and preeningAuthor: Glenn R Parker
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I’ll bet the Costa’s Hummingbird beak is a great back-scratcher, too!
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Adult female Costa’s Hummingbird on her nest…
This little female Costa’s Humminbird is nearly invisible in her newly constructed nest. It should hold two jelly-bean sized eggs and subsequent nestlings very comfortably.
Costa’s Hummingbird nest 2455 22 02 09
Wellton Az.
Female hummingbirds often build their nests even before searching for a mate. Nests are dainty affairs, 1.5 to 2 inch cups of plant fibers, down. animal fur, plant stems and spider webs, the silk is use in binding the nest together. The silk also allows the nest to stretch as the nestlings grow. Used nests are often splayed and misshapen in appearance.Author: Glenn R Parker
A well-deserved rest for this little Costa’s Hummingbird mom!
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This female Costa’s Hummingbird is a master builder!
It’s too bad there wasn’t a webcam focused on this amazing female Costa’s Hummingbird as she constructed this ingenious nest.
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Costa’s Hummingbird
Butterbredt Spring, Kern Co, CA May 12
Author: Bill Bouton
Not too shabby for tiny little Costa’s Hummingbird gal!
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