ORDER APODIFORMES
FAMILY APODIDAE
Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)
a. A bat-like chipping call; usually silent on migration (U).
A soft liquid twittering.
Rapid, repeated series of staccato chips, higher pitched than Chimney Swift's.
Insectlike (N).
A series of peets; a twittering chip-chip-chip or twit-twit-tweet-tweet (L).
See this page for full descriptions of other calls.
FAMILY TROCHILIDAE
Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
Nearly identical to calls of Rufous Hummingbird's (F).
a. A sharp bzii (R).
A variety of buzzy notes (U).
b. A low chup (U).
c. An excited zeeee chuppity-chup (U).
Chase note (N).
d. Male in display flight: bzz,bzz,bzz,bzz,bzz, produced by tail feathers in "pendulum" part of display flight (Cogswell in P).
e. Male in display flight: an air-splitting vrrrip at bottom of dive (which follows a long, wavering climb) (Cosgwell in P).
Wing buzz of adult males similar to that given by Rufous Hummingbirds, although may be slightly higher-pitched (F).
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
a. A sharp bzee (R).
b. Also, squeeks and light chips (P).
Low chipping and buzzy notes, similar to those of Allen's (U).
c. An excited zeeee chuppity-chup (U).
d. Male in display flight: a strident, stuttered v-v-v-v-vvrip at bottom of dive (P).
A low tut-tut-tut-turr of male's courtships display (L).
"Stuttered" character contracts with sound at bottom of Allen's dive.
During normal flight, the sound of adult male's wings is very similar to that of Allen's (P), with a "heavy zz-zzz-zz-zzz quality," and unlike other California hummers. These sounds, however, have a much "lighter" quality than those of the Anna's Hummingbird.
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
a. Feeding note, chick (P).
A sharp tchick (L) or chip (U).
Sometimes given in rapid series (N). Example 1.
b. Male in display flight: a sharp popping sound at bottom of arc (P,L).
c. Song: rapid, repeated chee-chee-chee (F). Example 1. Example 2.
A series of squeaking, grating notes given from a perch (P).
A rapid chee-chee-chee-chee-chee (U).
Male's song is a jumble of high squeaks and raspy notes (N).
Only California hummingbird with a true song (R).
A patterned series of coarse, squeaky phrases given from perch or air at onset of display dive (F).
Buzzy sounds made in normal flight are a bit more "muffled" and "heavier" in quality than Allen's, Rufous, or Calliope. Sounds like the larger hummer that it is.
Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope)
Relatively silent (N).
a. Feeding note tsip (P).Series of light chip notes (U).
Very high-pitched tsew note (F).
b. Male in display flight: brief pfft at bottom of dive (P).
A high see-ree (U).
Male's courtship call (N).
A high-pitched pfft-teewwww, the seond syllable descending in pitch.
A very high zing, given by displaying males (F).
c. Twittering calls (F).
Black-Chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)
Occasional in Klamath Mountains.
a. Call is a soft tchew (N).
Call, a slurred thew (R).
b. Chase notes combine high squeals and tchew notes (N).
Male in display wirs as it swoops back and forth in a shallow arc; note, a thin excited chippering (P).