Black-chinned Hummingbird

Status One sight record. Michael Gochfeld, an experienced birder from New York, observed a male, evidently of this species, at Salt Springs, Antigonish County, on 30 May 1964, and submitted an extensive description (Gochfeld 1964). He repeatedly established that its throat was black regardless of light angle, but iridescent violet on the lower border.

Remarks Although the throat of the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird may appear blackish at virtually all angles if the bird is perched high, the lower throat is never violet. There are no other eastern records of adult male Black-chinned Hummingbirds at any season. Birds in female or immature plumage, distinguishable from ruby throats only in the hand, are occasional in Florida, and one turned up in Massachusetts in the late autumn of 1979.