Selasphorus sasin

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Superordo: Caprimulgimorphae
Ordo: Apodiformes

Familia: Trochilidae
Subfamilia: Trochilinae
Genus: Selasphorus
Species: Selasphorus sasin
Subspecies: S. s. sasin – S. s. sedentarius
Name

Selasphorus sasin (Lesson, 1829)

Type locality: Nootka Sound, vicinity of Monterey and San Francisco, California = San Francisco, California, USA.

Synonyms

Ornismya sasin (protonym)
Selasphorus alleni Henshaw, 1877 Bull.Nutt.Orn.Club p. 53 BHL

References

Lesson, R.P., 1829. Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches. Ouvrage orné de planches dessinées et gravées par les meilleurs artistes. - pp. i-xlvi + 1-223, pl. 1-85. Arthus Bertrand. Paris. BHL DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.111210 Reference page. p. xxx, p. 190 pl. 66

Vernacular names
čeština: kolibřík kalifornský
dansk: Allens Dværgkolibri
Deutsch: Allenkolibri, Grünrücken-Zimtelfe
English: Allen's Hummingbird
español: Colibrí de Allen
suomi: keinukolibri
français: Colibri d'Allen
magyar: Allen-kolibri
italiano: Colibrì di Allen
日本語: アレンハチドリ, arenhachidori
Nederlands: Allens Kolibrie
norsk: Chaparralkolibri
polski: rudaczek kalifornijski
português: Beija-flor-de-allen
русский: Селасфорус Аллена
slovenčina: čmeľovec sasin
svenska: Allens kolibri
中文: 艾氏煌蜂鸟

Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) is a species of hummingbird that breeds in the western United States. It is one of seven species in the genus Selasphorus.

Description

Allen's hummingbird is a small bird, with mature adults reaching only 3 to 3.5 in (76 to 89 mm) in length. The male has a green back and forehead, with rust-colored (rufous) flanks, rump, and tail. The male's throat is an iridescent orange-red. The female and immature Allen's hummingbirds are similarly colored, but lack the iridescent throat patch, instead having a series of speckles on their throats. Females are mostly green, featuring rufous color only on the tail, which also has white tips. Immature Allen's hummingbirds are so similar to the female rufous hummingbird, the two are almost indistinguishable in the field. The lack of a notch in the second rectrix (R2) is considered an important field mark to distinguish the adult male Allen's hummingbird from rufous hummingbird, particularly the hard to distinguish green-backed variety.[3] Both species' breeding seasons and ranges are common factors used to differentiate between the two species in a particular geographical area.
Taxonomy

Allen's hummingbird was formally described by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1829 and given the binomial name Ornismya sasin.[4] The specific epithet is a Wakashan or Nootka Native American name for a hummingbird.[5] The type locality is San Francisco.[6] Allen's hummingbird is now placed in the genus Selasphorus that was introduced by William Swainson in 1832.[7][8] The common name commemorates Charles Andrew Allen, an American collector and taxidermist who identified the bird in 1879 in Nicasio, California.[9]

Two subspecies are recognised:[8]

S. s. sasin (Lesson, R, 1829) – breeds south Oregon and California (USA), winters in south central Mexico
S. s. sedentarius Grinnell, 1929 – islands off south California (USA)

A hybrid between this species and Anna's hummingbird has been described as Floresi's hummingbird, "Selasphorus" floresii.[10][11]
Distribution

Allen's hummingbird is common only in the brushy woods, gardens, and meadows of coastal California from Santa Barbara north, and southern coastal Oregon. The nominate race, S. s. sasin, is migratory, and in southern central Mexico. A second, S. s. sedentarius, is a permanent resident on the Channel Islands off southern California.[12] This population colonized the Palos Verdes Peninsula of Los Angeles County in the 1960s and has since spread over much of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, south through San Diego County, and east to the western end of Riverside County.
Behavior
Male Allen's hummingbird

The courtship flight of male Allen's hummingbirds is a frantic back-and-forth flight arc of about 25 ft (7.6 m) similar to the motion of a swinging pendulum, followed by a high-speed dive from about 100 ft (30 m) during which tail feathers emit a characteristic sharp flutter to further attract attention of the female.[13] Aggressive and territorial, male Allen's hummingbirds will chase any other males from their territory, as well as any other hummingbird species, and have even been known to attack and rout predatory birds several times larger than themselves, such as kestrels and hawks.

Allen's hummingbird constructs its nest out of plant fibers, down, and weed stems, coating the nest with lichens and spider webs to give it structure. The nest is placed above ground on a tree branch or the stalk or stem of a plant. The female lays one or two white eggs, which she incubates for 15 to 17 days. The young leave the nest about three weeks after hatching. The mother continues to feed the fledglings for several more weeks, then the young are left to fend for themselves.

Like all hummingbirds, Allen's hummingbird's high rate of metabolism requires it to feed frequently. It drinks nectar from flowers and eats any small insects in flight or on flower blossoms, providing needed protein.

References

BirdLife International (2018). "Selasphorus sasin". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22688299A131283791. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22688299A131283791.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Pyle, Peter (1997). Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part I: Columbidae to Ploceidae. Steve N. G. Howell, Siobhan Ruck, Institute for Bird Populations, Point Reyes Bird Observatory. Bolinas, Calif.: Slate Creek Press. ISBN 0-9618940-2-4. OCLC 38593534.
Lesson, René P. (1829). Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux-Mouches (in French). Paris: Arthus Bertrand. pp. xxx–xxxi, 190–193, Plates 66, 67.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 348. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 142.
Swainson, William John; Richardson, J. (1831). Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America. Vol. Part 2. The Birds. London: J. Murray. p. 324. The title page bears the year 1831 but the volume did not appear until 1832.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
Bendire, Charles (1895). Life Histories of North American Birds, from the Parrots to the Grackles. Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 217. LCCN 03018191.
Ridgway, Robert (1909). "Hybridism and generic characters in the Trochilidae" (PDF). Auk. 26 (4): 440–442. doi:10.2307/4071292. JSTOR 4071292.
Taylor, Walter P. (1909). "An instance of hybridization in hummingbirds, with remarks on the weight of generic characters in the Trochilidae" (PDF). Auk. 26 (3): 291–293. doi:10.2307/4070800. JSTOR 4070800.
Clark, C.J.; Mitchell, D.E. (2020). Poole, A.F. (ed.). "Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.allhum.01. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
Clark, C. J. (2014). "Harmonic hopping, and both punctuated and gradual evolution of acoustic characters in Selasphorus hummingbird tail-feathers". PLOS ONE. 9 (4): e93829. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...993829C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093829. PMC 3983109. PMID 24722049.