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Anna's Hummingbird
Calypte anna
37.5073, -122.494
Field Notes
Description:
Anna's Hummingbird is 3.9 to 4.3 inches (10 to 11 centimeters)long. It has a bronze-green back, a pale grey chest and belly, and green flanks. Its bill is long, straight and slender. The adult male has an iridescent crimson-red crown and throat, and a dark, slightly forked tail. Anna's is the only North American hummingbird species with a red crown. Females and juveniles have a green crown, a grey throat with some red markings, a grey chest and belly, and a dark, rounded tail with white tips on the outer feathers.
Habitat:
Coastal riparian area.
Notes:
The last photo in the series shows the female when she was sitting on the eggs on Jan. 31. The female lays two eggs and raises the young without the assistance of the male. The female bird builds a large nest in a shrub or tree, or in vines or on wires. The round, 3.8-to-5.1-centimetre (1.5 to 2.0 in) diameter nest is built of very small twigs, lichen and other mosses, and often lined with downy feathers or animal hair. The nest materials are bound together with spider silk or other sticky materials. She builds the nest around her, so it fits her perfectly. They are known to nest early as mid-December and as late as June. I first spotted the female sitting on this nest on Jan. 31. It appears that the young are just about ready to fledge at this point.
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