My friend Michael sent me this image of a hummingbird that's been hitting his hummingbird feeder in southern California for the last few weeks. My correspondent described the male hummer as "some weird mutant Anna's, with remarkably reddish plumage." You will note the pronounced rufous tone to this bird's gorget, and underbelly. It would be helpful to see a close-up of the bird's back, but naturally, the bird has not been cooperative in that respect. Michael routinely sees Anna's Hummingbirds at his feeder, and many of them do stay all year. This particular hummingbird does look quite a bit like an Allen's Hummingbird. But given how very common Anna's Hummingbirds are in the area, and the fact that this particular male, while he doesn't look like an Anna's, does in fact sound like one, it's also possible that he's a hybrid. There are known hybrids of Anna's and Allen's, and while unusual, they are not at all rare.

My personal bird obsessed geek ornithology expert opines that this is possibly an adult male Rufous Hummingbird. They migrate, and have just reached the AZ and NM regions in the last two weeks, he says, so it's not impossible. He also notes that it might be an Insular Anna's, and that yes, hybrids are not rare.