Catch of the Day: My Brilliant Bird Friend

Ben Lomond, California
November 2024

Meet my friend, young Arthur. He is a subadult (according to Sibley) male Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna). A subadult is a bird older than a juvenile but not yet an adult. In human terms, perhaps, college age. Arthur likes to hang out in the shrubs next to where I like to hang out on the patio. We hang together (rain or shine.)

Arthur usually sits quietly and obscurely until he suddenly darts off in lightening fashion to sip some nectar somewhere. (These hummingbirds also eat small insects.) He soon returns to rest. At times Arthur is chatty, making squeaky rat-a-tat chirps which allow me to locate him hidden in the foliage. I don’t know what Arthur thinks of me. Probably he sees me as a large animal he needs to be weary of, but he also likely knows that he is much quicker and more agile than I am.

I named him Arthur because I thought he should have a name beginning with an “A” and King Arthur came to mind. The male hummingbird that Arthur will grow into will be crowned in a full head of iridescent red-magenta feathers called a gorget. When viewed at the right angle, the feathers shine brilliantly, almost too bright to seem real. From any other angle they appear black. But he is too young and does not have the regal and magnificent plumage yet. His beak serves not only to retrieve food but is used as a weapon, a sword, to defend and attack. Hummingbirds are actually a quarrelsome lot. (I have included a recent photo of a mature male Anna’s hummingbird below to compare.)

In the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains of California, some hummingbirds (and flowers) can be found all year round. I watch these common yet miraculous creatures with my coffee each morning.

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