Black-chinned hummingbird
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
A female black-chinned hummingbird from Two Trees Canyon (in Riverside, California), photographed in strong backlight, is shown at upper left. The male at upper right is hovering near feeders at Big Morongo Reserve in the California desert. This rather lucky shot clearly shows the purple-blue band under his essentially black gorget area -- a color that is often hard to see in the field. Both of the females shown below nested in sycamore trees. The bird in the lower left photo built her nest across the 'saddle' of a leaf blade (next to the petiole), directly above a walking trail in Two Trees Canyon. Nevertheless, she successfully fledged two young. The other nest was nearby, sited more conventionally on top of a thin branch. The carefully constructed nests are made largely of spider webs.
