Diagnoses of hybrid hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). 17. Documentation of the intrageneric hybrid (Archilochus colubris 3 Archilochus alexandri)

Although the breeding ranges of Archilochus alexandri (Blackchinned Hummingbird) and Archilochus colubris (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) are narrowly parapatric in central Texas and central and southern Oklahoma, there have been few reports of hybridization in the literature and no well-documented hybrid specimens. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of two male hybrids collected, respectively, in Grayson County, Texas, and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. As has been the pattern in other hummingbird hybrids, both specimens exhibit a blended mosaic of plumage characters of the parental species. Sequence for mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) for the hybrid specimen from East Baton Rouge Parish (LSU 182,831) confirms A. colubris as the female parent.