Allen's Hummingbird

The Allen's Hummingbird is a small hummingbird native to coastal California and the Channel Islands. An Allen's Hummingbird measures 3.25 to 3.75 inches (8.25 to 9.5 cm) from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail. The male has a bright orange gorget. The Allen's Hummingbird looks very similar to the Rufous Hummingbird.

Hummingbird Takes Off

When a hummingbird takes off, it often appears to fly straight forward or straight up. We do not see a hummingbird make a big, obvious hop, followed by steady wing beats to gain altitude.

A hummingbird has relatively small leg muscles compared to other birds. A hummingbird does use its legs, but the powerful flight muscles in the chest do the most of the work. Those muscles, plus the hummingbird’s shoulder joints, make some dramatic take-offs possible.

A hummingbird can take off with power – sometimes flying straight forward, sometimes almost straight up. (This doesn’t mean a hummingbird won’t use gravity to start by dropping from a perch … it just doesn’t have to in the way some other birds do.)

Flying Forward

A male Allen's Hummingbird sits on a perch, looking to the side — Allen’s Hummingbird Perches

Hummingbird takes off from his perch, flying straight toward the camera — Allen’s Hummingbird Takes Off

Flying Up

An Anna's Hummingbird perches, looking up — Anna’s Hummingbird Perches

A hummingbird takes off from its perch — Anna’s Hummingbird Takes Off

And maybe this Anna’s Hummingbird had a strategy – look at the position of the twig in the second shot. It is slightly higher than when the hummingbird was on it.

We have noticed that a hummingbird will sometimes perch on a small twig that springs back as the bird takes off. Maybe a little extra boost on launch?

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Allen’s Hummingbird in his Flowers

This Allen’s Hummingbird was guarding a patch of Salvia flowers.

In the Flowers …

Picture of an Allen's Hummingbird in his flowers — Allen’s Hummingbird

Allen’s Hummingbirds were busy in two large flower beds of Salvia and Bird of Paradise. There were at least two adult males in the area and an adult female. But we had no idea what their actual numbers were – there was too much chasing.

These Allen’s were in the Newport area of Southern California, close to the ocean. We saw them feed from these Salvia and also from the Lily of the Nile, another purple colored flower. This is a good example of local flowers that attract hummingbirds even if the flowers are not red in color.

As usual with the Allen’s Hummingbirds, they vocalized at each other. They were often easier to hear than to see.

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Hummingbird GIF

Gorget Feathers – Allen’s Hummingbird GIF

This hummingbird GIF shows how light on a hummingbird’s gorget can change how we see the color. This Allen’s Hummingbird was guarding his patch of flowers in Southern California.

An Allen's Hummingbird turns his head in this animated GIF. His gorget feathers look dark brown, then bright orange. — Click to see him turn his head

Stretching …

Here’s something a hummingbird does slowly – stretching.

Coming in for a Landing GIF

Below is a series of pictures showing a hummingbird approaching, then landing on a feeder. Just for fun, we put these pictures into an animated hummingbird GIF.

Hummingbird GIF file shows a series of photos of a hummingbird coming to land on a feeder. — Click to see the landing

The photos are of an Anna’s Hummingbird, taken at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum during the spring of 2014. Several other hummingbirds were using the feeder on that day, including males. This bird was a little nervous on its approach, touching down, then backing away, then down.

Allen’s Hummingbird

A male Allen’s Hummingbird perches on a fuschia branch between flights.

This male hummingbird repeatedly returned to his fuschia perch. He was flying off to feed from the blossoms or to be involved in a series of chases with other Allen’s Hummingbirds. Several of these small hummingbirds were in the immediate area. They were flying very fast. The birds were often vocal as they darted through garden plants in coastal Southern California. It was easier to hear the hummingbirds than to see them as they chased each other on this day.

The photo of the male’s front shows the reddish orange coloration on the throat feathers (gorget). The photo of the male’s side view shows his orange and green coloration on the flank and back.

The Allen’s Hummingbirds feed off of a variety of flowering garden plants in the Newport Coast and Corona del Mar area. The hummingbird plants include Lion’s tail, Cape Honeysuckle, fuschia, fairy duster, pentas, and bottle brush trees.

While we were at this location, the birds were feeding from the flowers quietly. At another location, the feeding Allen’s Hummingbird would sometimes make a “chip!” sound intermittently while hovering and feeding.

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