I got to band an adult male Broad-tailed today, at a home near
Farmington, MO. It shouldn't have any trouble being accepted as the
first official state record for this species.
Here's a photo of the handsome li'l guy:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/images/btlh.jpg
So, what's it doing here, in JUNE (!), when it should be fathering
babies in the Rockies? Beats me. Stuff like this is what makes birds
interesting.
As a byproduct, I got to see a very uncommon event: interaction between
a Broad-tailed and a male Ruby-throated. Broad-tailed are pretty
laid-back as hummers go, and this poor dude got his butt kicked all over
the yard by the smaller but much nastier Ruby-throated. I think only
Rufous and Allen's have shorter tempers. Right after I trapped the
Broad-tailed, the Ruby-throated was trying to get at him through the
trap mesh. Sheesh, what an attitude!
--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
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