| Description:
Allen's Hummingbirds are extremely difficult to separate in the field from the nearly identical Rufous Hummingbird. Male Rufous Hummingbirds are almost entirely rufous above and on the tail while male Allen's have green on the crown and back. {NOTE: per Sibley however, up to 5% of adult male Rufous Hummingbirds can show a mostly green back and crown} Females and immature males are even more identical to their Rufous ciounterparts but have narrower, more pointy tail feathers than Rufous but this is often difficult to ID in the field. Winter birds in this area are best identified by a bander who takes careful in-hand measurements and snips a bit of the feather for confirmation. Allen's range is generally restricted to the west coast from sw Oregon to southern California. It generally winters in Mexico but for some strange reason, some individuals will wander and they are becoming more common here in the winter. Or at least people are more likely to be looking for them. In fact, a winter hummingbird in this area is far more likely to be a Rufous or Allen's than our local breeding Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
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Birds have appeared in NJ (Cape May 2000-2001 and 2004) and DE (Wilmington 1997-1998)
Best found:
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