All you bird experts out there... what kind of hummer would I be seeing in North Texas this time of year? I had one this morning, but it wasn't a ruby-throat, and I don't know what else it might have been. I did not get a good look at the body details, except to note that it was mostly brown and white.
Texas hummers
Pattie, this part of north Texas can regularly see Ruby Throats, Black Chinned, and Rufous. A "drab" hummingbird could be a juvenile or first-year bird, but it's hard to tell a RT from a BC (BC has a shorter bill and flits it's tail much more than a RT). I've had 2 female RTs in my yard this week (a full 2 weeks earlier than last year) and they're both mostly dull birds. Is it possible to get a picture of your bird? With it being migration and these birds being fairly transitory, your hummer could be one of several species.
Carla
No, I would love to get a pic, but I doubt I can. They don't "hang out" in my yard--we see them very randomly, at the salvia, and then it might be a month before we see them again.
This one had no green on it at all. I wish I had paid more attention to the markings. Since it was mostly brown, I was trying to figure out if it was a hummingbird moth instead of a real hummer. Then I realized we don't really get those around here (LOL). So, all I really noticed was a very long bill.
Around here I have about 2/3 Ruby Throats, 1/3 Black Chinned. The females and juveniles of both species can look quite brown in shade. Haven't been lucky enough to see a rufous. I did not think they even came this far north but that's what I thought about the Black Chinned before I started seeing them 2 years ago.