RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin)

Field characters.—Chin and throat of male iridescent coppery red, abruptly bordered below by white; back of male entirely cinnamon rufous, and plumage otherwise mostly rufous; back of female iridescent bronzy green; sides of body and base of tail strongly tinged with rufous. Adult males in flight give forth a tremulous whistling sound.

Occurrence.—Common transient through the Yosemite region. Observed by us as follows: near Yosemite Point, July 1; head of Lyell Cañon, July 23; Washburn Lake, August 24; top of Parsons Peak, September 6; and Silver and Walker lakes, September 14; all dates in 1915. Also, at Smith Creek, 6 miles cast of Coulterville, August 8, 9, and 10, 1920.

The Rufous Hummingbird was observed by us only as a transient in the Yosemite region; indeed this species is not definitely known to be other than a transient anywhere in California. The passage of the last northbound spring migrants is so closely approximated by the beginning of the southbound movement in the early summer that individuals are likely to be seen in the region on almost any day during the summer months. Most of the northbound movement probably takes place at low altitudes and in any event occurs too early in the spring to be observed by most visitors to the Yosemite section. But the migration initiated in late June or early July continues until the middle of September, and especially at the higher altitudes is much in evidence.

The adult males take no share in the duties of nesting, which are carried on in the northern Rocky Mountains and in the Pacific Coast district north from Oregon; the first representatives of the species to be seen in the southbound migration are males. Thus the bird seen near Yosemite Point on July 1 was a fully adult male, as it showed an all-rufous back. But later in the same month the females and their young began to pass through. Of the birds seen in Lyell Cañon on July 23 at least one was a female (immature). The southbound migration was evidently in full swing by that date as no less than 5 separate individuals were seen during two or three hours spent on the meadows and adjacent slopes.

A visit to Parsons Peak on September 6, 1915, showed that the migration was still in progress, and further, that the Rufous Hummingbirds were evidently using the crest of the Sierra Nevada as a fly-way. During the short time spent at the top of the peak, 12,120 feet, two of these diminutive travelers were seen flying southward, laboring against the strong southerly breeze; both took advantage of the same gap in the rocks to gain a slight respite from the buffeting of the wind. Other observers have told us of similar incidents noted by them while visiting peaks elsewhere along the backbone of the Sierra Nevada.

Four of the birds seen in Lyell Cañon in late July were drawn to the immediate vicinity of the observer by a red bandana handkerchief which he had purposely hung over his hat in the hope of attracting hummingbirds, a ruse which is often successful. The birds presumably mistake the patch of bright color for a group of flowers in bloom. One or more other individuals were seen on the same date visiting red castillejas and other flowers then in blossom on the benches near where the Lyell Fork cascades down from its headwaters to the level meadows below.

At Dudley, on Smith Creek, east of Coulterville, 5 Rufous Hummingbirds were collected on August 8, 9, and 10, 1920. These were all young-of-the-year. A great many more rufous-tinged hummingbirds were seen during the last of July and early in August, but determination of their specific identity (as between rufus and alleni) was not attempted, since the distinguishing characteristics of the two species in immature plumage cannot be noted in birds out of hand.