Records of Allen and Rufous Hummingbirds in the Sierra Nevada, California
Records of Allen and Rufous Hummingbirds in the Sierra Nevada, California
Frequently arguments arise over field identifications of hummingbirds which occur in summer at high elevations (8,000 to 11,000 feet) in the Sierra Nevada of California. Some observers claim that these birds are Selusphorus rufus, and others identify them as S. alleni. Many season's work in this area has convinced me that as regards these two species field or sight identifications are distinctly difficult and unreliable. Thus, at 11,000 feet elevation at Moose Lake in Sequoia National Park, on June 24, 1934, I collected an adult male hummingbird that had been watched in good light under most favorable conditions for observation. One observer insisted it was rufus and I was sure it was alleni. The bird (adult male, no. 9111, collection of Joseph S. Dixon and William B. Richardson) proved to be alleni, according to Dr. J. Grinnell who recently examined it.
I have shot three other male Allen Hummingbirds in early summer in the Sierra Nevada, and it has been my experience that most of the adult males found early in the season, from June 20 to July 20, at high altitudes in the Sierra Nevada are alleni. Some Rufous Hummingbirds come down the coast and invade this territory in late summer, usually in August.
Joseph S. Dixon
National Park Service, San Francisco, California, October 1, 1938
