Posted by Robin Diaz on January 01, 1970 at 00:00:00
Adult female and immature male Rufous differentiated from the adult female and (sometimes) immature male Allen's is the trick. A notched r2 is what banders use to determine a Rufous. Mike's photo shows a notched r2. "r" stands for retrix (single) and rectrices (plural). There are 10 symmetrical rectrices (tail feathers) on Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds and numbers are counted outward. The 2 central tail feathers are r1, so the ever-important r2 notched/unnotched feather is the next feather toward the outer tail. Mike's photos show details on the r1 feathers and the gorget to identify at least one of the Castellow Hammock birds as an immature male Rufous. Larry's word choice of "female type" is a good when viewing these birds in the field.