Bruiser.
A few weeks ago I noticed this little first-year male Anna’s hummingbird at Ash Canyon. He was injured; the tips of his upper and lower beak were dangling, barely attached. The damage looked a lot like a badly torn fingernail. Birds’ beaks are made of the same keratin as nails, only they can’t grow back once they are broken. A few days later the dangling parts dropped off.
There’s no way to tell what caused his injury—conflict, collision, or some accident while feeding—but I worried that he wouldn’t last long without a fully functional beak. Somehow he seems to be thriving.
Anna’s hummingbirds are resident here all winter; I expect he will stay close, where he has a consistent food source. When I first noticed him he was only eating insects that he caught on the wing, even though he was badly hurt. He has begun feeding at flowers again, which accounts for the smudge of pollen on his forehead. And he has become fiercely protective of his favorite feeder at the sanctuary, so at least I can find him in the crowd and keep track of his progress.
Dithyramb 