Animalia Life

Calypte anna
SUBFAMILY
Trochilinae
TAXONOMY
Ornismya anna Lesson, 1829, San Francisco, California. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Colibri d’Anna; German: Annakolibri; Spanish: Colibrн de Ana.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.9–4.3 in (10–11 cm); female 0.12–0.17 oz (3.3–4.7 g), male 0.12–0.2 oz (3.3–5.8 g). Male has short, straight black bill; upperparts golden green; head and elongated lateral throat feathers iridescent deep rose red, underparts gray washed with green, undertail-coverts green, edged gray; central rectrices golden green, lateral tail feathers dark greenish bronze. Female similar to male, head grayish, small white postocular spot, lacks iridescent rose red on head and throat, red discs on throat appear with age; median rectrices golden green, rest blackish, outermost feathers tipped white. Immatures similar to adult females.
DISTRIBUTION
Southwest Canada (British Columbia) through west United States (east to south Arizona) to northwest Mexico. Winter range highly unsettled, species occuring irregularly south to north Sonora, southeast to Gulf Coast of United States, and even north to southeastern Alaska; sporadically occurs much further east.
HABITAT
Chaparral, oak woodland, canyon bottoms, open woodland with evergreen broadleaf trees, riparian woodland, savanna-like vegetation, coastal shrub, and urban and suburban environments, at sea-level to 5,900 ft (1,800 m).
BEHAVIOR
Forages in low to high strata, usually at 6.6–26 ft (2–8 m). Male occupies feeding territories at nectar-rich sources. Extensive post-breeding wandering. In recent years the species has considerably expanded its range of winter occurence in the United States towards the southeast. Recently recorded for first time in San Luis Potosн (north-central Mexico).
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Nectar of flowering native and introduced perennials, shrubs and trees including Ribes, Diplacus, Salvia, Keckiella, Aquilegia, Mimulus, Tecomaria, Kniphofia, Agave, and Eucalyptus. Insects are caught in the air by hawking or taken from foliage. Small flies constitute almost half of the arthropod consumption.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding occurs from November to May, occasionally to July. Cup-shaped nest constructed of soft material such as plant down, feathers, and hair, held together by spider web and insect cocoon fibers and sometimes rodent hairs; decorated with lichen, moss, pieces of dead leaves and bark on external wall; placed on horizontal twigs, usually 6.6–20 ft (2–6 m), sometimes up to 65 ft (20 m) above ground. Two eggs; incubation 14–19 days by female. Chicks black with two dorsal rows of dull grayish down; fledging period 18–26 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Common throughout range and at present apparently in process of expansion.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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