Male Calliopes puff out a flashy group of neck feathers, also known as the gorget, to woo potential mates.
Measuring a mere 3 inches long and weighing roughly the same as a ping-pong ball, the Calliope hummingbird is incredibly tiny. In fact, Eric Rasmussen, avian scientist at the MPG Ranch in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, points out that this hummingbird is the smallest bird seen in North America.
Pops of Purple
Look for several key clues to identify this diminutive species. Both males and females sport glossy, bright green plumage on their heads and backs, with white on their underparts. Males have stripes of magenta along the throat, while females and juveniles have a bit of cinnamon color underneath.
Look closely, too, at a Calliope's tail and wings. "When they are perched, their wingtips tend to protrude just below the tail tip," Eric says.
Take Flight
Bu hikaye Birds & Blooms dergisinin June/July 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Birds & Blooms dergisinin June/July 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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