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Black-Chinned Hummingbird: New to Ontario by Nora M

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Black-Chinned Hummingbird: New to Ontario by Nora M 27 Notes Black-chinned Hummingbird: New to Ontario by Nora M. Mansfield About 1700h, Friday, 25 May 1990, a appear to be black, with the breast warm sunny day, Dr. and Mrs. A.A. and sides darker than the Ruby­ Sterns of Rideau Ferry, Lanark throats'. There was no crest. I too County Ion the Rideau Waterway, thought it looked larger. about 9 km south of Perth) spotted a I asked Ron Beacock of Perth, a strange hummingbird amongst the sharp-eyed, experienced birdwatcher many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds with remarkable surveillance skills, at their feeders. It appeared to be to come. From 2000h to 2045h, with "larger, with a black head and a bit the light waning, we caught glimpses of a crest". They thought it might be of the bird in the feeder area, but sick or dying as it sat much of the these and the videotaped pictures time without moving, only were not clear enough to give us occasionally sipping from a feeder. what we needed definitively And they noted that the Ruby-throats concerning its colour. We decided to tried to chase it. return the next day to obtain more Dr. Sterns videotaped the strange details which might show whether it hummer. Mrs. Sterns tried to locate was a larger, darker Ruby-throated or an expert to identify it. First she prove that it was another species called the Ottawa Otizen newspaper, such as the Black-chinned but its staff was too busy with the Hummingbird IArchilochus alexandri). Meech Lake Accord affair to help. In that event, we would have to get Next she tried Lynne Thompson of an expert to confirm the the Perth Wildlife Reserve who, identification. unable to, asked me to go. I drove By Saturday morning, after from my Smiths Falls home pronto, further studying our books, we arriving about 1915h. concluded that of all the North The Sterns pointed the bird out to American hummingbirds our bird me, with other hummingbirds in the was most like the Black-chinned. Ron shrubbery-bordered feeder area returned by 0830h and I by 1000h, siding the house on the south. It was watching until noon with no luck. best seen from the windows Back again at 1600h, I spied him overlooking this enclosure, but was immediately, sitting alone at a feeder mainly viewed amongst the foliage on -- right out in the open in bright top of and inside the hedge where the sunlight! Within minutes, Ron light was variable because of arrived and took photographs of the shadows. From the front, its head did bird from all sides. For 30 minutes VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 28 before it disappeared finally out of was it seen again after the 26th! Glad sight, we observed it with binoculars to help in any other way, the Sterns IlOx50 and 8x401 from a distance of had asked that there be no publicity 3 to 6m, as it fed, rested, and flew. that would bring flocks of We noted: the very green sheen birdwatchers and photographers. of its back; dusky forehead; black We were disappointed that the chin and throat; white collar between bird had vanished before throat and breast; breast a light grey confirmation by other observers, but with what appeared to be a darker our faith lay in Ron's transparencies grey wash on the sides Idarker than for proof. Then tragedy struck. On the Ruby-throats' sidesI; the slightly Tuesday, he was informed that the downcurved bill approximately the wrong developing solution had been same length as the Ruby-throats', and used, removing all pictures from the blackish-brown and shiny smooth; film! This hope gone, Gordon and and tail moderately notched, but the Larry ran the videotape through in same length as the Ruby-throats'. The their respective labs, but were unable overall length of the bird looked to be to get anything conclusive. a few millimetres longer than many As designated report writer, I of the Ruby-throats at the Sterns'. continued to document relevant facts. The Ruby-throats' movements were For example, I determined by colour very quick and light, while this bird's chart the exact colours which we had were sluggish; takeoffs and landings seen on the throat, learning that Mrs. were slower, and all movements Sterns had seen a "blue-pink" in a including flight were smoother. The very narrow band along its bottom Ruby-throats looked as if they were twice on Friday, and Dr. Sterns had going about their business on seen black only. I took colour prints breeding territory in a brisk, of the habitat, which was ideal for purposeful manner, while the Black-chinned's breeding IStokes and stranger did not. No call or wing Stokes 19891 -- lowland bordered by sounds were heard. water on two sides, with willow trees Then suddenly, I saw a along one shore. Weather reports momentary burst of a glorious which I obtained confirmed severe iridescent blue-pink violet over the weather disturbances had occurred bottom of the throat in a narrow southwest of the U.S.A./Canada band Inot elongated at the sidesI. border 24 to 48 hours before the bird unlike any colour I had ever seen had been spotted, which might before on a bird. I was absolutely account for its presence and stunned! Ron saw purple once. behaviour. I compared W. Earl Convinced beyond a doubt now Godfrey'S 119861 tip of the bill to tip that it was an adult male Black­ of the tail measurements for Black­ chinned Hummingbird, we consulted chins and Ruby-throats, finding that with Gordon Pringle of Ottawa. He our bird was possibly at the top of came out on Sunday afternoon (27 the Black-chin's range of 7.5 to 9.5 MayJ, bringing Larry Nealy (who has cm -- making it appear longer than personal experience with the speciesI many of the Ruby-throats. -- but our bird was not about, nor ONTARIO BIRDS APRIL 1992 29 Figure 1: Black-chinned Hummingbird showing diagnostic flash of shiny violet on lower throat. Drawing by Chris Kerrigan. Sustained by the support of Saskatchewan (sight record). There Gordon Pringle and Bob Curry who were no Canadian records east of guided us through procedures, and Saskatchewan prior to our Ron D. Weir's spontaneous "I buy observation, according to Desante and that!" when I described the find to Pyle (1986). In the United States, it is him, we submitted a report of our a very rare vagrant eastward to observations to the Ontario Bird Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida Records Committee (OBRCj. The (Desante and Pyle 1986). and there is OBRC subsequently accepted the one record from Cohasset, sighting (Curry 1991). as the first Massachusetts -- the most easterly documented occurrence for Ontario. occurrence for the continent (AOU Thus, the tortuous tale, if ever there 19831. was one, of this Black-chinned Hummingbird has finally been told Acknowledgements --as we observers saw it. I wish to thank Ron Tozer for The Black-chinned Hummingbird assistance in the preparation of this breeds in the West from note, and for compiling the overview southwestern British Columbia and of distribution. northwestern Montana south through California, Arizona, New Mexico and Literature cited southern Texas, to northern Mexico American Ornithologists' Union 1983. 1983). (1986) (AOU Godfrey reported Check-list of North American Birds. it as a casual visitant to southern 6th Edition. American Ornitholugists' Alberta {specimen l. and southern Uniun, Washinglun, D.C. VOLUME 10 NUMBER I 30 Curry, R. 1991. Ontario Bird Records Godfrey, W. E. 1986. The Birds of Canada. Committee Report for 1990. Ontario Birds 9: Second Edition. National Museums of 18-44. Canada, Ottawa. Desante, D.F. and P. Pyle 1986. Distributional Stokes, D. and L. Stokes 1989. The Checklist of North American Birds, Hummingbird Book. Little, Brown and Volume I: United States and Canada. Company, Boston. Artemisia Press, Lee Vining, California. Nora M. Mansfield, 60 William St. E., Apt. 3, Smiths Falls, Ontario K7A lC7 Bat as Food of Northern Shrike by Ron Pittaway, Peter Burke and Dawn Brenner About 1l00h on 26 January 1992, we The two most cold-hardy bats observed an adult Northern Shrike that hibernate in central Ontario are (Lanius excubitor) holding a bat the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) (Chiroptera). The observation was and the Small-footed Bat (Myotis made near Nephton, Peterborough leibiiJ (Ed Poropat, pers. comm.). The County, Ontario. The morning was relatively large size of the bat held by sunny and cold, with an overnight the shrike we saw suggested to us temperature of -20°C. The shrike was that it was probably a Big Brown. first noted when it flushed in front of This species often hibernates in us. It flew low for a short distance, buildings, and is occasionally active holding the bat with its feet. When in winter. In fact, Banfield (1974) the shrike perched, the bat could be states that "when disturbed in clearly seen in our telescope. hibernation, the bats (Big Brown) An extensive review of the awaken, raise their body literature revealed no reports of temperatures by shivering, and after Northern Shrike preying on bats. a period of about five minutes take to Ross James (pers. comm.). of the shaky flight about their winter Royal Ontario Museum, also was quarters" . unaware of any instances of bats Our observation was made near being taken by this shrike. However, several mine buildings and Bent (1950) reported two separate residences. We speculate that the bat cases of the Loggerhead Shrike may have been disturbed in a nearby (Lanius ludovicianus) attempting building, and then caught by unsuccessfully to capture bats in the shrike when it attempted to move flight.
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