I'm pretty sure this is a juvenile Black-chinned but with all the little "unknowns" flying around I'm not real sure. Anyone?

Carla,

Based on your location in Utah, I'd say you're right on the money.

The overall "look" of the bird has that "Ruby-throat/Black-chinned" look that most of us in the eastern part of the country will recognize. We can see it's a young bird by the buffy edge to the body feathers - something Nancy taught me to recognize, and which most of us, with some practice, can learn to spot. Those buffy edges will wear off over the next several months and leave the bird with a bright shiny bronzy-green back.

And finally, by the heavy stippling on the throat, we can see it's a young male, as a young female Black-chinned would have a nice clear throat. (Some young males may have a completely clear throat, but that doesn't usually last for long.)

The same basic characteristics hold true for Ruby-throats - so the folks on this side of the country ought to study this picture - it gives you all the things to look for in determining the age and sex of a Ruby-throat just like it does for a Black-chinned. Telling the two apart where they both occur, of course, is a whole 'nother question

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. Now- how 'bout this one. Another male?

Carla,

I'd have to answer the same there - and I'm guessing this is a different bird, if only because the stippling on the throat isn't as heavy as in the first picture, and because this one appears to have even more buffy edges to his feathers, even on some of his wing feathers. That might be an optical illusion, however, so I'm not 100% sure on that point.

Like the first shot, this is a good picture for studying how to recognize young Black-chinned OR young Ruby-throats, given the similarities between these closely related species. Those buffy edges to the feathers won't last forever, but at least for now, any birds hatched this year should probably still have a goodly amount of this buffy edging to the feathers.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Kevin,

I know this is another bird since both pictures were taken on the same day just as one bird was flying away and the other landing. Don't you love the "eyelashes" on the second one!

Carla