The Big One

27
Written by cabanisi

Among the many beautiful birds inhabiting the border regions of the Southwest are Rivoli’s Hummingbirds. They are the second largest species of hummingbird found in the US, and were notably bigger than the other hummingbirds swarming around the feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon during my recent visit there:

The smaller bird is a Broad-billed Hummingbird, an average sized hummingbird, which is to say it’s tiny.

The Rivoli’s appears huge in comparison—at least twice its size. It’s certainly a big hummingbird, but a few measurements may help to keep things in perspective.

According to the Sibley Guide to Birds, Rivoli’s Hummingbirds average about 5 inches long (12.7 cm) and weigh about 7 grams. That’s still smaller than a House Sparrow, which averages 6 inches long (15.2 cm) and which weighs in at a whopping 26 grams. Much of the length of the Rivoli’s Hummingbird is taken up by its long bill!

That bill allows them to probe deep into flowers for nectar—or in this case a plastic feeder filled with sugar water:

I only saw immature and adult males during my brief foray into their habitat. Like other hummingbirds, their appearance and colors vary greatly depending on the light and the position of the observer. They often look all green or black:

A slight turn of the head or body reveals brilliant, iridescent colors:

The website All About Birds states that Rivoli’s Hummingbirds were named by the French naturalist Lesson in honor of the second Duke of Rivoli, who was himself an amateur ornithologist. Rivoli was not the duke’s actual name, but the name of an area associated with the city of Turin, in northern Italy. This same source mentions that the Anna’s Hummingbird was named in honor of the duke’s wife.

I had no idea there was any connection between the Anna’s Hummingbird, which frequents gardens throughout the far west, and the Rivoli’s Hummingbird, a Mexican and Central American species that barely gets into the US.

I leave you with a couple more portraits of this splendid (little!) bird:

Thanks for stopping by, and may you be well.

27 Comments

  7. Superb photos. I find that iridescent birds are a little hard to photograph. Sometimes, with a little shutter lag a photo can change colour because the bird moved ever so slightly: sometimes for the better, but often for the worse.

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