Broad-tailed Hummingbird – Hovering before feedingSelasphorus platycerus September – New Mexico L=4” ...... WS=5.25”...... WT=0.13 oz Order: Apodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds) Family: Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) The Broad-tailed Hummingbird breeds at high elevations in the southern and central Rocky Mountains, eastern California, and Mexico. One identifying characteristic is the male’s shrill buzzing sound that occurs during flight. This buzzing is due to tapered outer feathers on their wings that buzz when air passes through them. Like all hummingbirds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds have a very long slender tongue. The tongue itself wraps around the back of the skull and then enters the oral cavity. This coil allows the tongues of hummingbirds to extend well beyond the typically long bill, sometimes as much as a full bill length beyond the bill itself .
Rufous Hummingbird – Hovering before feedingSelasphorus rufous September – New Mexico L=3.75” ...... WS=4.5”...... WT=0.1 oz Order: Apodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds) Family: Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) Rufous Hummingbirds breed farther north than any other hummingbird, as far north as Alaska. They migrate to Mexico which gives these birds the longest migration, measured in body lengths, of any known avian migration. They have unusually short wings with high wing loading for a hummingbird which could be an adaptation to allow for fast flight during the long migration. Rufous Hummingbirds are aggressive and generally will dominate other hummingbirds, such as the Broad-tailed Hummingbird, when they are in the same locale. This occurs during the Rufous’s migration which passes through the Broad-tailed Hummingbird's summer territory before the Broad-tailed starts its migration. In these two photographs the Rufous Hummingbird chased the Broad-tailed Hummingbird from the feeding site.
Great Blue Heron – With recently caught BowfinArdea herodias March – Texas L=46” ...... WS=72” ...... WT=5.3 lb Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Great Blue Herons forage primarily by walking slowly through water, often chest deep, and quickly striking their prey with their bill, which is adapted for both grasping and spearing. Like all other birds of the family Ardeidae the Great Blue Heron has an “S” shaped neck in which the bones of the neck are even more “S” shaped than the neck itself. This extra length of vertebrae serves two functions - (i) since the vertebrae cross from behind to in front of the esophagus, the bones can protect the esophagus during a strike and (ii) this added length allows for incredible quickness in the strike itself. Great Blue Herons eat mostly fish but will also eat amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, mammals and birds. While most fish eaten are small (less than 12 inches) larger fish are caught and eaten whole , although this sometimes results in the bird choking to death. In this photograph, the Great Blue Heron has speared a bowfin of considerable size (2.5-3 lb). Killing this fish quickly is important for the bird since bowfins have sharp teeth and are ill-tempered fighters.
