Of all the various topics in ornithology (the study of birds), the one that's the most confusing is the identification of female hummingbirds.  Even for someone with sixteen years in the field it's difficult to be sure of the species, even when I'm only two feet away.  A tiny female hummingbird will be sitting on a nectar feeder, and I'm standing with my nose so close she can hear me breathing, and I identify her by a process of elimination.  What colorful markings doesn't she have?  How developed is the gorget? (armor protecting the throat-from a time when men wore armor)  Could it be an immature male, or a young female?  Am I really, really sure?

     In less time then you can think she's gone....what kind was she?  It's a frustrating game that I'm not always successful at, and I'm supposed to be the expert around here.  I've shot over 30,000 frames of hummingbirds in the Wind River Canyon digitally and, sometimes I'm not entirely sure either.  With four species of hummingbirds breeding here in the Wind River Canyon, sometimes you can't tell the players without a program.  This program will have pictures.

     Let's start out with the most aggressive and prolific of the hummingbirds here in the canyon, the Rufous Hummingbird female.  The Rufous female is the easiest hummingbird to identify that nests here in the canyon.  They have lots of the color rufous, a reddish-orange brown on their flanks, rump and tail, with a green on her back that reflects sunlight, and a white breast.  The Rufous Hummingbird female may also have a small gorget, but so does the young male of the species; the young males' is usually more developed.  The platelets on a female are never entirely developed.  These birds are less than four inches from beak to tail! as all our hummingbirds are here in the canyon.  This new photograph was shot last Saturday afternoon @ 1/3200th, f/4 with an ISO of 500.  The camera was a Canon 7D, the lens a Canon 300mm f/4L IS.  It's a shot of her beautiful upper wing structure that I've been trying to photograph for nearly a decade!  The camera was hand-held with no tripod.      Rufous Hummingbird female - Wind River CanyonRufous Hummingbird female photographed in flight in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.      The Calliope Hummingbird female is the smallest bird in North America, and the smallest long-distance migrating bird in the world!  They are green with white below, and a small streaked gorget with buff flanks.  These females are noticeably smaller, and have shorter tails and beaks than other hummingbirds in Wyoming.  The female Calliope are very small, shy and friendly, green flying emeralds.    Calliope Hummingbird, female, Wind River Canyon, WyomingCalliope Hummingbird of the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.      The Black-chinned Hummingbird is a relatively recent addition to the breeding hummingbirds in the canyon; this is only their third nesting season here.  The female has a gorget that will be all-white or faintly streaked, and she also will be green with buff flanks, but a longer tail.  If this is all beginning to sound a bit similar, it is.  The Black-chinned has a longer beak and a more aggressive flying style, but it's the darker markings near her eyes that usually give her away.  The photograph below won first place at the Cody Art Show last year, and was shot hand-held with the same 3oomm lens.  Black-chinned Hummingbird, female, Wind River Canyon, Wyoming - 1st Place, 49th Cody Art ShowBlack-chinned Hummingbird, Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. Winner of the 1st Place Award at the 49thCody Art Show!      The fourth and last species of female hummingbird, to successfully nest in the Wind River Canyon, is the  amazing Broad-tailed Hummingbird.  Last summer was the very first time that this species nested in the canyon, but they migrated through the canyon for many years; we'd spotted them every year coming and going.  They are breeding here in the canyon again this summer, too.  The females are similar to the Calliope, but are much larger with longer beaks and tails.  The color can vary enough that they are sometimes mistaken for the Rufous, however.  Their large tail feathers are very active in flight and unlike the other species that nest in the Wind River Canyon.  I was crazy-lucky to capture the very first female Broad-tailed Hummingbird to successfully nest in the canyon.  This first nesting documentation became art to me, and was worked in a selenium print.  This amazing and magical event of last summer won me a first place award @ the 2015 Cody Art Show this year.  It was shot with the 70-200mm f/4L IS that I just love for up-close wildlife work.    Broad-tailed Hummingbird, (f), 1st Place, 50th Cody Art Show - Photographed in Wind River CanyonBroad-tailed Hummingbird "Landing in Wyoming" in the Wind River Canyon. This photograph won 1st Place in the Professional Division @ the 2015 Cody Art Show----Cody, Wyoming. This is a black &white selenium print by Michael John Balog.      As I was told long ago, "If this is confusing, it probably is."  If this sounds a bit cryptic, so is identifying female hummingbirds.  I've spent thousands of hours with the hummingbirds here in the canyon, and sometimes I can't tell what species of female I'm looking at, even when they are starring me right in the face.  And in a bare fraction of a second she's gone....now what species of hummingbird was she?  Was that a young male?  

     Light green and rufous, with an aggressive attitude, and it must be a Rufous.  Darker green and very small, with a short beak, a Calliope.  Darker markings around the eyes and a long beak, and it must be a Black-chinned, and big, green and that big tail and it's a Broad-tailed.  

     The Black-chinned has the longest beak, the Calliope the shortest.  The Rufous has that color, the Calliope and Black-chinned do not, the Broad-tailed a little.  The Calliope has the smallest tail, the Broad-tailed the largest.  And sometimes I am not so sure anymore.  But male hummingbirds can usually tell the difference, but guess what, they have been known to inner breed.  Even they seem to have a difficult time telling the females apart....so don't feel too bad.

All photographs and writing by Michael John Balog - Hogbats Photography

HogbatsPhotography.com - Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.

Till next week's wildlife blog, "Keep your camera ready."