Hi Joanne, Your hummingbird indeed has some rufous wash to the flanks. However, young Ruby-throated Hummingbirds can show this feature, with some individuals being very rufous on the flanks. If rufous is not apparent on anywhere else on the bird (like the back or the head), the KEY area that needs to show rufous is the base of the outer tail feathers. Here is a photo sent to me last year that I was originally SURE that it was a Rufous Hummingbird based on the amount of rufous on the flanks: http://tinyurl.com/3e2qcd5 It turned out to be a very buffy Ruby-throated, with rufous present no where else but the flanks. Here's a photo that shows a Rufous Hummingbird that has the rufous on the flanks and tail, but nowhere else: http://gerlachnaturephoto.com/Photos/Rufous2.jpg Best of birding to all! Sean --- Sean Williams, PhD Candidate '16 Department of Zoology Michigan State University 203 Natural Sciences Building East Lansing, MI 48824 617-470-4094 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]