My wife put up a hummingbird feeder outside our kitchen window last week — still fairly early in spring up here in northern Idaho. Much to our delight, we spotted a type of hummingbird we’d not seen before. It’s a rufous hummingbird. They are about three inches in length with a straight long bill. The males have a distinctive colorful fringe of feathers along their throats. In the low light of the day, the throat feathers seemed almost iridescent.
Our hummingbird was a very territorial fellow, resting on the feeder and chasing all other hummingbirds away. It was a cool, cloudy and drizzly day — if you look closely you see the rain drops in some of my photos — but he sat there diligently for hours, defending his food source.
The rufous has a large migratory route. Winter range is mostly in Mexico extending somewhat to the southwestern and southeastern states. Summer range is from Alaska through BC and into the Northwestern states. Idaho is on the fringes of its range, so I was glad to spot this one.
