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To the Beauty of Birds

Thank god for separate geographical ranges. The Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus and the Allen's Hummingbird are almost identical in appearance. However, the Rufous is rare in California but common in the Eastern U.S. (and N.M.) and Allen's is common in California but rare in the east. While reading David Tipling's book The Birdwatchers Guide to Digital Photography, I noted he raved about the Del Apache National Wildlife Reserve in New Mexico as a place to photograph Sandhill Cranes. So when I had to be in Santa Fe for a meeting, we took a side trip to Del Apache. Since it was August the Sandhill cranes were not there yet. However, there were a number of hummingbird feeders around the visitor's center they had attracted many Rufous Hummingbirds.

Rufus Hummingbird