Anna's Hummingbird vs Roseate Spoonbill
Calypte anna compared with Platalea ajaja
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Anna's Hummingbird | Roseate Spoonbill |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Calypte anna | Platalea ajaja |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Trochilidae | Threskiornithidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 10.0 cm (3.9 in) | 81.0 cm (31.9 in) |
| Wingspan | 12.0 cm (4.7 in) | 127.0 cm (50.0 in) |
| Weight | 4.3 g (0.15 oz) | 1500.0 g (52.91 oz) |
| Diet | Nectar, small insects, and tree sap. Visits a wide variety of native and ornamental flowering … | Small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and plant material filtered from shallow water by sweeping the … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 1-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Anna's Hummingbird
Chaparral, coastal sage scrub, gardens, parks, and open woodland along the Pacific coast. One of few hummingbirds not fully migratory.
Roseate Spoonbill
Shallow coastal lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, and freshwater marshes. Nests in colonies in trees and shrubs.
Song & Call Comparison
Anna's Hummingbird
Male produces a complex, scratchy song with buzzy 'dzzzzt' notes. Gives a nasal 'chee-chee-chee'. Males sing year-round, even in winter; one of few hummingbirds with true song.
Roseate Spoonbill
Low, grunting and guttural croaking sounds at nesting colonies. Generally quiet. Alarm calls are softer croaks. Vocalizations lack melodic quality; purely functional colony sounds.
Geographic Range & Migration
Anna's Hummingbird
Western North America from southern British Columbia along the Pacific coast to Baja California. Range has expanded northward.
Roseate Spoonbill
Southeastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Argentina.
Conservation Status
Anna's Hummingbird
Roseate Spoonbill
How to Tell Them Apart
Anna's Hummingbird
Metallic bronze-green upperparts. Males have an iridescent rose-red crown and gorget. Females have green upperparts with grey underparts and a small red gorget patch.
Medium-length, straight, thin black bill
Roseate Spoonbill
Vivid pink body plumage with darker carmine on the wings. Bare greenish-grey head. White neck and back. Intensity of pink depends on diet.
Long, flat, spatulate greyish bill used for sweeping through shallow water
About These Birds
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's hummingbird is the most common hummingbird along the Pacific coast and one of only three species resident in the United States year-round. Males perform spectacular dive displays, plummeting from 40 meters and pulling up with a loud chirp produced by tail feathers. Their body temperature can drop to near ambient at night to conserve energy.
Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill is the only spoonbill species in the Americas and one of the most striking wading birds in the Western Hemisphere. Like flamingos, their pink color comes from carotenoid pigments in their crustacean prey. Nearly hunted to extinction for their plumes in the 19th century, they have recovered substantially.