Hummingbirds....Girls, Boys, Young, Old!

How do you tell one from another? There are great reference books but even then, it can still be difficult to tell a male from a female or one type from another. I have two very good books I can recommend:

1. Hummingbirds of North America
    The Photographic Guide
    Steve N.G. Howell

2. Peterson Field Guides
    Hummingbirds of North America
    Sheri L. Williamson

I will start this post tonight, but it is going to take me a few days to work out. I want to pull some of my pictures of Anna's and Rufous Hummingbirds and the males versus the females. Of course the males may have their heads turned one way or the other....and they look so different. I have pictures of other types of hummingbirds I have taken, but they aren't as clear so I will just go with what can really help.

First let me ask you this? Is there really a Santa Anna?

Let's actually begin with the identification of Anna's hummingbirds.

These 3 pictures shown above are all of the same male Anna's hummingbird. Dark green back, grey chest, black head feathers that catch the light and turn very very red.

The next picture I will show is an Anna's male molting this past fall. In fact, he was falling apart right before my eyes.

He looks kind of young and perhaps this was his first molt! 

Shown Below is a beautiful female Anna's hummingbird. Green back, grey-white belly, maybe a bit of color on the neck. 

Shown Below is an immature Anna's male in the spring sitting on the kiwi's. You can see his dark neck feathers just coming in. 

This is a nice shot of of a male Anna's versus

This shot of a male Rufous