[364] BIRDS OF OREGON 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Alaskan coast, southern Yukon, and southern 

 Alberta south to Oregon and southwestern Montana. Winters in Mexico. In 

 Oregon: Most common hummingbird in State. A common summer resident and 

 breeding species. 



THE RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (Plate 66) is the brown-looking humming- 

 bird of the dooryards, familiar to almost every Oregonian. It is the 

 most abundant one in the State and is found in migration and as a breed- 

 ing species in every county. The females and young, lacking the reddish- 

 brown back and brilliant gorget of the adult male, are frequently taken 

 for some other species. It is, however, the only hummer one is likely to 

 see in western Oregon, as it is the only one found regularly west of the 

 Cascades. East of that range, many more than half the hummingbirds 

 seen are of this species, and in the mountains of eastern Oregon it is 

 abundant. It usually arrives in early March (earliest date, February 16, 

 Coos County) and remains until September (latest date, September 14, 

 Washington County). It was first recorded as arriving at the mouth of 

 the Columbia River near the encampment of the Lewis and Clark expedi- 

 tion on March 2.6, 1806 (Lewis and Clark 1814). Nuttall (1840) reported 

 a set of eggs taken at the mouth of the Willamette on May 2.9, 1835. 

 Since then a great number of records of this species have been published, 

 including many nesting records. The latter are largely in May, which is 

 the great breeding month, although Braly took eggs on Sauvies Island as 

 early as April 12. and Jewett found a fresh set on June 9 at Portland. 



Allen's Hummingbird: 



Selasphorus alleni Henshaw 



DESCRIPTION. "Adult male: Similar to rufus, but whole back as well as crown bright 

 bronzy green, two outer tail feathers very narrow, and second from middle without 

 notch or sinuation; outer feather much less than .10 wide. Adult female: similar to 

 female rufus, but with outer tail feathers not more than .10 wide. Male: length 3.2.5- 

 3.30, wing 1.50-1.55, tail 1.10-1.2.0, exposed culmen .60-. 65. Female: length 3.40, 

 wing 1.65-1.70, tail 1.05-1.15, exposed culmen .68-. 70." (Bailey) Nest: A beautiful 

 cup of plant down, covered with moss and usually placed on a plant or bush over- 

 hanging the water. Eggs: ~L, white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds along coast from southern Oregon to southern Cali- 

 fornia. Winters on Santa Barbara Islands and probably in northwestern Mexico. 

 In Oregon: Known definitely from only two specimens. 



ALTHOUGH MANY of the earlier books gave general ranges that listed 

 Allen's Hummingbird as a summer resident of the Oregon coast, definite 

 evidence of its presence was not obtained until Jewett collected two 

 specimens, an adult male and an immature male, on Pistol River, Curry 

 County, June 2.3, 192.9. In July, 1933, the authors while together in that 

 same locality shot two more hummers that were unquestionably of this 

 species, but both were lost in the dense jungle of vines through which 

 the tall stalks of Scrophularia about which they were feeding grow. 



