Plain-capped Starthroat

I just couldn’t resist a quick visit to the Paton’s feeders in Patagonia this morning (any excuse to avoid packing!) hoping to see both the Plain-capped Starthroat, Heliomaster constantii (life bird #575) as well as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a rare visitor to Arizona but a bird I am highly familiar with having lived in the East for 19 years. Another target was the elusive Sinaloa Wren, Thryothorus sinaloa, that wandered up from Mexico, at the Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Preserve just up the road from the Paton’s. The wren vocalized about an hour before I got there and then was a no-show. Can’t win ‘em all.

Plain-capped Starthroat (Heliomaster constantii)

The starthroat’s normal range is from Mexico to Central America. It prefers insects to nectar so patience is necessary while waiting for it to show up at a feeder. The constant activity and bickering among the many hummers at the Paton’s feeders and morning light made photography difficult. The Ruby-throat was so busy defending a feeder that I never did get a decent photo of it. Other hummingbirds present were three Violet-crowned, many Black-chinned and Broad-billed, plus Anna’s, Calliope, and Rufous. Very enjoyable morning!

Okay, back to packing.