Calliope Hummingbird - Stellula calliope
Summer Resident in western Montana.
The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest North American breeding bird. The adult male is the only North American hummingbird whose iridescent gorget is divided into separate magenta-red rays, which can be elevated in elegant star-burst display against the white background of the throat. The female's throat is white, sometimes with a few small spots of the male's gorget color. It differs from Rufous and Allen's hummingbirds in having a shorter bill and noticeably shorter tail, very little rufous in tail, often not visible in field; and a wash of pale buff across the breast rather than concentration of such color on sides and flanks (Calder and Calder 1994). From http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ABNUC48010.aspx
Read MoreThe Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest North American breeding bird. The adult male is the only North American hummingbird whose iridescent gorget is divided into separate magenta-red rays, which can be elevated in elegant star-burst display against the white background of the throat. The female's throat is white, sometimes with a few small spots of the male's gorget color. It differs from Rufous and Allen's hummingbirds in having a shorter bill and noticeably shorter tail, very little rufous in tail, often not visible in field; and a wash of pale buff across the breast rather than concentration of such color on sides and flanks (Calder and Calder 1994). From http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ABNUC48010.aspx
