Colibri d'Anna

Identification

Anna's hummingbirds are 3.9 to 4.3 in (9.9 to 10.9 cm) long with a wingspan of 4.7 inches (12 cm) and a weight range of 0.1 to 0.2 oz (2.8 to 5.7 g). They have an iridescent bronze-green back, a pale grey chest and belly, and green flanks. Their bills are long, straight, and slender. The adult male has an iridescent crimson-red, derived from magenta, to a reddish-pink crown and gorget, which can look dull brown or gray without direct sunlight, and a dark, slightly forked tail. Females also have iridescent red gorgets, although they are usually smaller and less brilliant than the male.<p>The male Anna's hummingbird is the only North American hummingbird species with a red crown. Females and juvenile males have a dull green crown, a grey throat with or without some red iridescence, a grey chest and belly, and a dark, rounded tail with white tips on the outer feathers.<p>The male has a striking reddish-pink crown and gorget, which are strongly iridescent and dependent on the angle of illumination and observation by female or male competitor birds. The iridescence results from large stacks of melanosomes in the feather barbules, occurring as layers separated by keratin. The barbules reflect incident light in the manner of partially-opened Venetian blinds, enabling the iridescence – which varies the head and gorget coloration with the changing angle of light – as a coloration advantage for courtship attraction and territory defense.<p>Male birds with elevated levels of protein in their diet have more colorful crowns and higher iridescence in their head feathers compared with male birds with low protein intake.<p>The male's call – scratchy and metallic – is typically used as the bird perches in trees and shrubs. Anna's hummingbirds have adapted to urban environments and are commonly seen in backyards and parks, and at feeders and flowering plants. Anna's hummingbirds eat flying insects.

Taxonomie

Anna's hummingbird was formally described and illustrated in 1829 by the French naturalist René Lesson in his Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux-Mouches from a specimen that had been collected in California. Lesson placed it in the genus Ornismya and coined the binomial name Ornismya anna. Anna's hummingbird is now placed in the genus Calypte that was introduced in 1856 by the English ornithologist John Gould. Gould did not explain the derivation of the genus name but it is probably from the Ancient Greek kaluptrē meaning "woman’s veil" or "head-dress" (from kaluptō meaning "to cover"). The specific epithet anna was chosen to honour Anne d'Essling who married the ornithologist François Victor Massena, 3rd Duke of Rivoli. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Nom scientifique

Calypte anna

Autorité

(Lesson, RP, 1829)

Ordre

Apodiformes

Famille

Trochilidés

Genre

Calypte

Répartition et habitat

Anna's hummingbird is found along the western coast of North America, from southern Canada to northern Baja California, and inland to southern and central Arizona, extreme southern Nevada and southeastern Utah, and western Texas. They tend to be permanent residents within their range. However, birds have been spotted far outside their range in such places as southern Alaska, Saskatchewan, New York, Florida, Louisiana, and Newfoundland.<p>In response to rising temperatures at low elevations during climate change in the 21st century, Anna's hummingbirds have expanded their range into the cooler summer environments of higher-altitude (up to 2,825 metres (9,268 ft)) mountainous terrains of California, such as the Sierra Nevada.<p>Anna's hummingbirds have the northernmost year-round range of any hummingbird. Birds have been recorded in Alaska as early as 1971, and resident in the Pacific Northwest since the 1960s, particularly increasing as a resident population during the early 21st century. Scientists estimate that some birds overwinter and presumably breed at northern latitudes where food and shelter are available throughout winter, tolerating moderately cold winter temperatures.<p>During cold temperatures, Anna's hummingbirds gradually gain weight during the day as they convert sugar to fat.<p>While their range was originally limited to the chaparral of California and Baja California, it expanded northward to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and east to Arizona in the 1960s and 70s. This rapid expansion is attributed to the widespread planting of non-native species, such as eucalyptus, as well as the use of urban bird feeders, in combination with the species' natural tendency for extensive postbreeding dispersal.<p>In the Pacific Northwest, the fastest growing populations occur in regions with breeding-season cold temperatures similar to those of its native range. Northward expansion of Anna's hummingbird represents an ecological release associated with introduced plants, year-round nectar availability from feeders supplied by humans, milder winter temperatures possibly associated with climate change, and acclimation of the species to a winter climate cooler than its native region. Although quantitative data are absent, it is likely that a sizable percentage of Anna's hummingbirds in the Pacific Northwest still do migrate south for winter, as of 2017.<p>Anna's hummingbirds with inadequate stores of body fat or insufficient plumage are able to survive periods of subfreezing weather by lowering their metabolic rate and entering a state of torpor. <p>When studied in colder temperatures at mountainous elevations, Anna's hummingbirds used torpor more frequently and for longer periods than at lower elevations.

Migration

Migrateurs complets

Comportement

Mode de migration: Migrateurs complets.

Conservation

Tendance de la population: en hausse.

Tendance de la population

en hausse