Observers: D.Parker
Email: jimndebby@qnet.com
Verification: sierra
Remote Name: 209.221.223.55
Date: 10/17/2006
Time: 05:22 PM -0400
This date is fine for Anna's but late for Costa's according to Heindel's draft preliminary graph for Inyo Co. It's very helpful to have both female or first-fall types hummers in the yard at once for comparison. The Costa's has a thinner & slightly curved bill, pale gorget with tiny dots of color clustered in the center and in a tidy arrangement and a much paler breast and belly with a darker wash on the sides only. The Anna's bill is thicker and the gorget has larger speckles of pinkish/orange feathers that spread throughout the whole gorget but not solid as in a full adult male. Above the breast is a slight pale collar and the breast and belly are washed darkish with spots of darker feathers. The tail is longer than than the wings. The Anna's was singing it's diagnostic "swishing" song and it seems the Costa's is "tapping out" a much quieter ditty.