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I'm young birder who loves photography, and animals in general.
Southern California
Sign In to followThank you for the ID, eric!
Just wanted to say that this looks better for a hybrid or Ross's. The beak doesn't seem short enough for a Ross's, but there's not a large enough "grin" patch for a Snow. Also, it is showing the blue base of the beak that a Ross's would show.
Agree with Dark-eyed Junco. It's of the Oregon subspecies group, by the way.
It definitely could be a hybrid. It looks very similar to the first record of an Anna's in Delaware that was ruled a hybrid after it got its gorget in.
I guess I should add that there's one thing that's bothering me about it being a Costa's. The primaries should extend past the tail, which I'm pretty sure they don't. Black-chinned should also go past the tail feathers.
btw, I'm using Kenn Kaufman's Field Guide to Advanced Birding to base my ID. (although I still can't really tell, with the wing problem)
I'm not convinced. In picture two you can fairly easily see the purple/pinkish color on the forehead. Also I'd think a Black-chinned would have darker flanks/belly that contrasted with the white right below the throat. Finally, Black-chinned Hummingbirds gorget is a much darker color, and the chin area is normally not colorful at all. I know I'm in the minority, but I have no doubt it's not a Black-chinned.
It's not a Black-chinned. It's definitely a Costa's/Anna's. I honestly think they're different birds, the last picture showing an Anna's and the rest showing a Costa's.