Birds of Costa Rica 2: part 3

Common Black Hawk (busardo negro aka. gavilán cangrejero negro (lit. Black Crab-eating Hawk)
Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Kites, Eagles, and Hawks Family
§A Kettle of Hawks§

~True Bird Fact~ Black Hawks are specialized to hunting prey in the water (hence the 'crab-eater' above). They can wade around in shallow water to startle fish and then use their wings to 'herd' them to spots where they can be picked off more easily. They also like to perch on low branches and then drop suddenly into the water to snatch up crabs, fish, and crawfish. Sounds like a nice life.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (colibrí cola rojiza)

Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Hummingbird Family

§A Bouquet of Hummingbirds§

{Etymology Corner} Something that's always fun is when you get a picture of a bird with a name that's like the "named-after-an-incredibly-obvious-physical-feature hummingbird" and somehow the angle that you get is the only possible one where that feature isn't visible. Makes you real cautious about the ol' ID. But I think that's probably what he is. There's not a lot of options in terms of the pink/orange bill. Anyway, this guy has kind of a red tail area.

~True Bird Fact~ Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds have a pretty rare social set-up- they live in loose colonies with one male and many females. In this setup, the male mates with the females and the females are responsible for nest-building, egg-incubating, and child rearing. How's that for a division of labor? Sheesh.

I know, I know, this is far and away the worst photo I have uploaded to the blog, a true #worstbirdpic, but I was so excited to see this guy and this is the only shot I got of him. C'est la vie. Maybe he will appear again on this blog when I get a good shot.

Crested Caracara aka. Mexican Eagle aka. Mexican Buzzard (carancho aka. traro)

Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Falcon Family

~True Bird Fact~ The only falcon to build a nest- all others just kind of lay eggs in the dirt, or use the old nest of other birds. Seems to be a bit of an intelligence outlier among this family to be honest- they also have learned to follow trains and cars to feed on discarded food. 

~Real Bird Myth~ As you might expect for such a distinctive and charismatic bird, the Crested Caracara features prominently in mythology. In the Aztec founding legend, the bird that shows them where to build their capital city is probably the Caracara. The legend goes that the sun god, Huitzilopochtli, told them they would build a city where they find an eagle perched on a cactus, holding a snake. This image may sound familiar to some, as it is depicted on the Mexican flag. Of course, the city they found is Tenochtitlan, which is the modern day Mexico City. The beautiful narrative here is only somewhere tainted by the fact that the bird on the modern Mexican flag is very clearly a Golden Eagle. Different interpretations of the same myth, it seems.

A Beginners Guide to Hummingbirds that have Appeared on this Blog (with bonus mystery bird)

Wow, quite a Summer we had, bird fans. We really crammed it in here on the blog, with The Great Hummers of Late Summer being an unvarnished success by all metrics that matter (quantity, quality, name of feature). We also proved that it is theoretically still possible for this blog to come out on a weekly basis, if highly unlikely. Yes, my recent trip to the greater Tucson area proved very fruitful (read: birdful), especially for hummingbirds, and we had some great blogs about them. However, when you stop and think about it, what did we gain?

That's why today I'm going to talk a little bit about how we might take the hummingbird friends we've made this month and actually gain some knowledge that will help us find them again, in the wild. When I started this blog I never thought that it might be something people who have any interest in identifying birds would read. After all, there are so many better resources out there for that. So instead I chose to focus on 'birds for the casual bird enjoyer'. However, if there's one thing that's become clear the longer I've stayed in this hobby, is that it's at least a little bit contagious, and regular readers often catch the "I want to look at that bird and know what it is" bug (read:bird). So read on, and you too might add some hummingbirds to your life list. But probably not, unless you live, like, in the far South West.

And one more quick ground-rule- these ID tips are intended to be for birds found in the USA. There are places that have like, tons of hummingbird species, and they all look the same, so no help from me there.


Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: You might think that the ruby throat would be the dead giveaway, and you're sort of right. But something you'll see as we go down the list is that these color features are highly dependent on 1) male birds and 2) getting the right light. You see Hummingbird coloration is largely structural, not pigment-based. This means that seeing those bright colors depends on the light hitting them just right. An easier ID is that if you live on the East Coast, this is basically your only hummingbird, baring weird accidental appearance. Other than that you have the green body with a white belly, but that's a pretty common color scheme.


Anna's Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: They have a redish-pinkish head, almost to the point of looking like they're wearing a full hood. Lives on the West Coast. For me, the vast majority of the time, if I've seen a hummingbird along the pacific, it was an Anna's. Pretty easy ID


Allen's Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: Crazy colors! Unlike most hummingbirds, this one has spots of orange mixed in with spots of green, mostly along the top. As compared with a later orange hummingbird, this one has less orange, more green, generally speaking.


Costa's Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: A hard one! Very similar to Anna's, but if you see something you think is an Anna's, but the 'hood' has weird points that extend downward, kind of like lapels or shoulder pads (and sometimes away from the head), it might be an Anna's. Also a purple colored head, vs a more red or pink one in Anna's (but the colors here are not always easy to see, as I mentioned earlier). Smaller, more 'hunched' posture than Anna's, which are sleeker looking. It you're not sure, it's probably an Anna's, as these are not seen as often in most places.

Broad-billed Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: Pretty easy, I would say. Super colorful, blues and greens all over the body, even without hitting the right light. The bill, though, is really where it's at. Red, slightly curved, with a black tip. Not many hummingbirds have this combination. It is also reported that the bill has a 'broad base', which is what the bird is named for, although it's not exactly the kind of feature I think a normal person would notice or remark on.


Black-chinned Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: A dark head and a distinctive color pattern on the throat that goes black chin, purplish necklace (sometimes just looks black), white collar. Also has a little white spot behind the eye. The top of the head is always green, in contrast with some of our more colorful hummingbirds above.


Rufous Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: Extremely orange. If you see a hummingbird and are like "wow, I didn't know there were orange ones", it's probably a Rufous. You might see little bits of green here and there, but less so than in an Allen's. I've been informed that there are basically no differences between an Allen's and Rufous female, so you probably shouldn't even try.


Rivoli's Hummingbird
Key Identification Feature: Big! Darker than most. If you trust pictures on the internet, very colorful throughout, but that's not how I saw it. If you see a hummingbird that looks a lot sturdier and a little slower than normal, it's probably this guy. Long wings and tail with prominent black. Another white eye spot haver.

So, given all that information, we're probably all hummingbird experts now, right? Well, not so fast, because you see, this is a guy I haven't been able to identify. I also posted in the usually very accurate "What's this bird?" Facebook group and there was no consensus. I got Violet-crowned, Broad-billed, and Violet-crowned x Broad-billed hybrid, which is apparently something that can happen. So I present to you now, this Mystery Bird. Maybe some day with lots of training, it'll be YOU who finally tells me what he is. But probably not! The combination of fast moving, super small, highly variable color patterns within species, and colors that requite light to hit at certain angles make hummingbird identification pretty hard. You'll be accurate probably 90% of the time just saying it's a Ruby-throated if you're on the East Coast and an Anna's on the West, to be honest.





Potential Violet-crowned Hummingbird
July 2019

Key Identification Features: Looks a lot like a broad-billed, but check out that streak of blue along the head and back. Also, take a look at the white neck and belly, and then go look at the Broad-billed again. Much more white! However, it's not perfect, since these guys are supposed to have very straight, red beaks. And ideally there'd be an even more white. What's going on here? A trick of the light? Some weird hybrid? Maybe we'll never know. Still, I think I'm probably going to count it, since I saw it at the wonderful Patton Center for Hummingbirds, which is a place that reports daily sightings of these otherwise fairly rare birds.

Still, if you think you know what this bird is with confidence, sound off in the comments. Until next time, bird fans-

Rivoli's Hummingbird

Rivoli's Hummingbird aka. Magnificent Hummingbird (arch., but extremely complimentary)
Madera Canyon, Arizona
July 2019
Member of the Hummingbird Family
§A Hover of Hummingbirds§

~True Bird Fact~ Among the largest of the hummingbirds, it's hard for a Rivoli being this zippy and also so big. In contrast to smaller hummers, they're a bit slower, can actually glide a bit sometimes with their wings, and are more insectivorous. They also have one of the highest recorded heart rate among all vertebrates (420-1200 bpm).

Has, like, half a dozen degrees, loves going to college
Mysterious source of wealth
Names his home/boat with words that no one has any idea of the meaning of, like "Ciceronian" 



Well, we've got a Eponymous bird here, and you know what that means

Francois Victor Massena, 2nd Duke of Rivoli (a 7 year old here, presumably looked older as he aged. This is the only picture I could find, sorry!)

(1799 - 1863)

Francois was the youngest child of Andres Massena, one of Napoleon's military commanders during his whole thing. His father's nickname, by the way, was "The Dear Child of Victory", which has got to be hard on a kid. Described on his Wikipedia page as an "Amateur Ornithologist" (hey, that's me!), he accumulated quite a collection of bird specimens in his lifetime. One of the finest private bird collections, the 12,500 birds were eventually sold to an American naturalist, Thomas Bellerby Wilson, and made their way to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Combing through his collection with his cousin, Charles de Souancé, resulted in the describing of a number of new parrots (new to western science at least). You might remember Francois' wife as the source of the name for Anna's Hummingbird. A hummingbird power couple to be sure.

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Madera Canyon, Arizona
July 2019
Member of the Hummingbird Family
§A Bouquet of Hummingbirds§

★The Longest Migration Route of all North American Hummingbirds★

★The Northernmost Breeding Hummingbird★

~True Bird Fact~ So, about that Migration Route- it's really pretty impressive. They travel nearly 4000 miles from Mexico to Alaska along the pacific coast, and then back down along the Rocky Mountains. And they do this every year, and at such an incredibly small body size. This migration is among the most impressive in the animal kingdom. Tough birds! Also, helpful, since their strange clockwise route makes them significant pollinators across a really large area.

~Additional Hummingbird Fact~ Hummingbirds are fast, but not so fast that they have no predators. Often these are the same animals that eat insects, which despite previous claims on this blog, does not mean that Hummingbirds are bugs. However, a clever defense that many birds employ is building a nest in a tree occupied by a bird of prey. These predatory birds are too slow and big to be interested in the small and zippy hummingbird, but they do eat the things that eat Hummingbirds. Smart!

How Endangered Are They? I was surprised, dear reader, to see Rufous Hummingbirds were on the IUCN as a Near Threatened Species. After all, there are a lot of them. 19 million, by the IUCN's own estimates. So what is endangering this bird, exactly? Well, it's actually that exacting and specific migration route. See, if something goes wrong at any of those spots, it impacts the hummingbird. Largely we're talking about climate change here, and the spring flowers blooming too early for hummingbirds to feed off of them. But also they are going to be impacted by the large insect die-offs that result from increased use of pesticides in agriculture. Population numbers have been estimated to have dropped by 60% since 1970.

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird
Patton Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, Arizona, USA
July 2019
Member of the Hummingbird Family

§A Tune of Hummingbirds§

~true bird fact~ Ok, let's say we take these bird at face value, and assume they are not robots or fairies, but instead are living non-magical creatures. How do these hummingbirds eat, exactly? Well, they flick out their nightmarish tongue into a source of nectar, and that nectar travels along (in a Black-chinned) two grooves in it. The hummingbird then slurps the tongue back into its mouth and squeezes the nectar out. These licks are so fast that they can happen as often as 17 times each second. And I thought I ate fast!

~An additional hummingbird fact~ A hummingbird egg is about the size of a coffee bean, but the nestlings grow quickly. In fact, they grow so much that young birds become larger than their parents. Since a hummingbird nest is made partly out of spider silk, and the birds involved are so light, the nest can just stretch and expand to accommodate this growth. 

Proud atheist
Loves esoteric and complex board games
Pipe smoker
 

Well, I hinted at it in the last blog, but I guess now that I've posted an actual feeder pic, the jig is up. I prefer to get images of hummingbirds in their natural habitat when possible, but the opportunities provided at Tucson Audubon's Patton Center for Hummingbirds are too great to pass up. It is a really cool, extremely off-the-beaten path birding spot, and unique in its ability to draw hummingbirds. There were also some really lovely and helpful volunteers on the day that I visited. Check it out if you're in the area, or even online, where there are live hummingbird cams. Did I see the legendary Violet-crowned Hummingbird they are so well known for? Maybe! No really, I mean literally maybe, I don't know if the bird I got a picture of is the Violet-crowned. But I guess you'll be able to judge for yourself soon, on this very blog.

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Broad-billed Hummingbird
Patton Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia, Arizona, USA
July 2019
Member of the Hummingbird Family
§A Glittering of Hummingbirds§

~true bird fact~ Can't walk or hop, like all Hummingbirds, his feet are just for perching. Early accounts of Hummingbirds speculated that they had no feet at all. You know blog reader *turns chair backwards in preparation of getting real with you* we've had fun with hummingbirds here on Amateurnithologist, but I feel like we've gotten off on the wrong (possibly non-existent) foot. Enough pretending that hummingbirds are bugs, or robots, or were invented by Tim Allen. We're going to dedicate some real time to hanging out with these extremely cool and highly specialized birds. That's why for the next month I'm rolling out a feature called Great Hummers of Late Summer and looking at a different bird each week. I will not be taking comments on the name of the feature.

Prideful
Nearly made it as an Olympic athlete, but some mysterious tragedy or circumstance prevented him from fulfilling his dream
Never appears to be feeling either too hot or too cold

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird
Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond, California, USA 
February 2018 
Member of the Hummingbird Family 
§A Tune of Hummingbirds§

~true bird facts~ Truly a feisty little guy, he gets very particular about his territory. He has been observed to chase much larger predators, up to and including hawks and kestrels, out of his area. Not only that, but male and female Allen's Hummingbirds live in completely different environments- men go to more open and visible areas, with the women coming and visiting to check out the mating dance of the males, before returning to the denser, more protected woodlands where they make their nests. We all need a little space sometimes. That mating dance, by the way, is an arcing pendulum motion followed by a 100 foot dive that is so fast that it actually allows him to make a chirping noise with his tail feathers. It's pretty cool (here's the Anna's version of it, couldn't find any good Allen's videos).

So, as all long-time readers will know, Hummingbirds are not actually birds, but rather bugs, robots, or bio-robotic organisms. Some research indicates that they might actually be arcane (magical) relics that have been activated by wizards or something. As such, we'll skip the personality section, as Hummingbirds don't have em'. But still, you might be wondering, who is Allen's Hummingbird named after- that's right, it's time for another Naturalist Profile!

Tim Allen

1953-202?

Tim Allen is a human actor, well known for his television shows and movies. The Allen's Hummingbird was actually created for an episode of his most famous and popular show, Tim Allen's Tool Time. In episode 07_18, Tim tinkers with nano-machines, electro-fields, and dark, ancient illustrations that his neighbor Wilson buys at an Illuminati auction to create the 'living' 'bird'. However, it is only after his son, Jonathan Taylor Thomas Allen, sneaks into his laboratory late at night, and properly aligns the crystal matrix, that the creature comes to life. Therefor, you could argue, that the naming convention applies to either or both Allens. The rest of the episode is spent in the zany antics of trying to prevent the hummingbird from reaching a source of argon gas, which it of course needs to reproduce. Obviously Allen was unsuccessful, and I'm thankful for it, since otherwise we wouldn't have these great hummingbirds today.

I know this is a lot of information that might be surprising (I never watched the show much, so I didn't know), but I got it directly from the Tim Allen wiki, which is very well-sourced.

Ok, so let's say that you don't want to know the #Truth about Hummingbirds, and instead want the mainstream media's alternative facts. Here's the guy they say discovered this alleged bird-

Charles Andrew Allen

1841 - 1930

There is virtually no information about Charles Allen on the internet- only this one picture (which is from a pdf of his obituary) and no wikipedia article, which is sad for someone who named this great hummingbird. He was born in Massachusetts, and his interest in birds started early, with a childhood friendship with a taxidermist, which isn't a weird thing to have at all. He held a variety of odd jobs- carpentry, fishing, civil war soldier-ing. Eventually the conditions in the furniture mill in which he worked caused him so many respiratory problems that he decided to move out to California. There he worked as kind of an early park ranger, and it was during this period of time that he collected bird and mammal specimens, which he sent to a colleague or friend for collection and classification. No information on whether or not he 'discovered' other birds, but it was his observation that led to the understanding that Rufous Hummingbirds were a different species from the above bird. He had 3 kids.

Et Tu Birdte? The Birds of March

Julius Caesar. Jesus Christ. Han Solo. All the subjects of famous betrayals. You know who else has been betrayed? These birds! Behold their tales of woe, dear reader, and take heed.

Northern Mockingbird's right hand man coveted his leadership position at Chemco, thinking he was the better bird for the job. He shoved Northern Mockingbird into a big open vat of chemicals at their evil chemical factory, which you think wouldn't work great because birds can fly. However, Northern Mockingbird was holding two doughnuts (one in each wing), and therefor was unable to get those wings moving in time. He was left for dead, but actually the chemicals gave him super powers, so he'll probably get revenge at some point.

Black Phoebe was not at fault for his downfall. He was pushed into a position of fame and prominence early in his life by his parents, who both had dreams of success that they hadn't achieved. After some early successful turns in commercials and TV shows, he got a major role in a movie that became a true genre classic. Black Phoebe missed a lot of school and normal social engagements to do this. He got exposed to some pretty messed up stuff early too, making it hard for him to transition into normal adulthood. His parents ended up embezzling all of the money he earned as an actor. He went through a rough patch, but seems to be getting some promising roles in indies now, and he's cleaned up his act.

California Scrub Jay was supposed to be a voice of his generation. His fiery speeches were compelling and convincing. He had a way of communicating that cut through typical political lines, speaking clearly both to the common man, and to the more idealistic types. Unfortunately, he kept getting caught sending inappropriate pictures, and in the mail, which made it even weirder. He survived a few scandals, but eventually retreated from the public eye. Years later, seeing what people are now willing to accept from their political leaders, he wonders why things turned out this way for him. In the end, he betrayed himself by believing that he could not fall in this way.

Anna's Hummingbird was talked into an adjustable rate mortgage when he didn't really have a stable enough income to cover it. Sure enough, times didn't stay green forever, and the house was repossessed, and financially he's never really recovered. The messed up part is that the shady realtor was his mother. Did she sabotage Anna's Hummingbird on purpose? Or was it a sub-conscious lashing-out as a result of their constant disagreements about the lifestyle choices he made? Either way, she knew about the risks and convinced him to go into it anyway. Anna's Hummingbird's credit score is still really bad. What a messed up thing to do.

BRL: Bird Request Live: Hummingbird and Pelican

Welcome to a new feature! You write in with your bird requests, I do a blog about them (provided I actually have the bird in question), and that's the whole thing. Realistically, I imagine this feature will repeat approximately never to once every 6 months, because that's the estimated level of interest here. Still, nearly at 20,000 clicks and on our 4 year anniversary, it doesn't feel bad to add a new feature. Happy Amateurniversity to me! If you'd like to request a bird, hit me up on the Twitter or just leave a comment.

Today's bird request is coming in live from Lia P. in Atlanta, GA. Lia writes:

Do you take requests? Like, maybe you could do a DJ Fly feature (get it? Because most birds fly) and do a post on requested birds. If so, this is Lia in Atlanta and I'm requesting the hummingbird and pelican, two of my favs.

I absolutely can, Lia, but I have to say I don't really understand that joke. Sense of humor has never been our strength here at The Amateurnithologist. You requested 'the hummingbird' and 'pelican', so I assume you just leave it up to me which type of hummingbird and pelican you'd like to see.

There are 338 known species of hummingbirds, but only 20 that are regularly found in North America. Even then, most of those are located south of or on the southern US border with Mexico. Narrowing things even further, the only hummingbird regularly seen on the east coast is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (covered on this blog here). We've also done Anna's Hummingbird, the most common on the West Coast. Today we have a new hummingbird to show you.

female

Costa's Hummingbird (slightly speculative, I find these very hard to tell from Anna's)
Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, California, USA
February 2016
Member of the Hummingbird Family
§A Bouquet of Hummingbirds§

~true bird fact~ You picked a really interesting bird in the hummingbird. It has many unique features, but I won't share them ALL today. Hummingbirds eat only flower nectar, generally only from very specific flowers. Often hummingbirds will co-evolve beaks that fit perfectly with the flowers they pollinate. That's how you sometimes see hummingbirds with extreme or unusual bills.

As always, here at Amateurnithologist, we maintain that hummingbirds are not actually birds, but rather malfunctioning machines, or perhaps bugs

male

Pelicans were the other bird requested. There are only two species of pelican that live in North America, and we've covered both of them here on the blog- American White Pelican and Brown Pelican. Impressively, I've managed to do 8 blogs that at least include images of pelicans despite there only being two types (well, two types here. There are still only 8 worldwide). A testament to the interestingness level of pelicans. And interesting they are- some of the worlds heaviest birds, they look like they should never be able to fly. However, their body structure is incredibly light for how bulky it is, as they have connected networks of air sack organs in their bones and skin that not only make them lighter, but let them float high in the water. Their strange bill is defined by an expandable pouch that usually catches fish, but can also hold rain water.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Hummingbird Family
*true bird fact* A recent study has discovered that Anna's Hummingbird can shake faster than any other vertebrate at an outstanding 55 shakes per second (55sps). They do this to shake off dust, dirt, and pollen while in flight.
§A Bouquet of Hummingbirds§

A Hummingbird who has joined a secret society and must wear a mask
Mostly just spies, sometimes does horrible things
Rejoins polite society, friends and family none the wiser
Mostly eats jewelry, like all hummingbirds

Wait a second Amateurnithologist! You didn't think you'd get away with not telling us who 'Anna' is and why she possesses this hummingbird, didya?
Oh non-existent fan-base, I'd never leave you hanging like that!

Naturalist Profile: René Primevère Lesson
(1794-1849)
Fought in the Napoleonic wars as a teenager. Mainly served on naval vessels as a surgeon or pharmacist. After his tour of duty, went on one of those very popular round-the-world voyages and described many new species. He has the interesting distinction of being the first European to see Birds of Paradise during his trip to New Guinea. He went on to focus on hummingbirds, granting names to them of oddly specific members of French aristocracy. Anna's Hummingbird is named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. Prior to his observations it was believed that these birds perhaps did not have feet (they do). Also an accomplished herpetologist, who described many species of reptile and amphibian for the first time.

Contributions to Ornithology: Hummingbirds (var), Birds of Paradise (var), Two books on the subject; Manuel d'Ornithologie (1828), Traité d'Ornithologie (1831).

Bird Portraiture: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Church Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada
Member of the Hummingbird Family
*true hummingbird fact*~Hummingbirds can fly backwards as quickly as they can fly forwards. They can also hover. They are the only birds able to do this sort of thing.

*true bird fact that is actually relevant to this specific bird*~ The Ruby-throated Hummingbird has quite a unique migration pattern. To begin with, they are the only hummingbird east of the Mississippi. Additionally, their migrations are timed to the blooming of their favorite flower species. Some of them even travel across the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 500 miles over water without stopping. Quite a feat for such a little bird.

No discernible personality beyond endless need for fuel

Is actually a bug or something, probably

Maybe a robot, that would also make sense

I mean just look at this guy