Central American Hummingbirds

Though not having the number of species concentrated in Ecuador, Central America is great for hummingbirds as well. Belize, without having high mountains to add to the diversity has about 17 species. Costa Rica, however, has over 50 species with the greatest number in the mountains over 5000 feet. The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird pictured above is the most common Central American hummingbird. Though many hummingbirds are shades of green and/or brown, not all of them have bright purples and blues on their throats.

This pair of Brown Violet-ear Hummingbirds were battling over territory. They moved so fast I could not believe I captured this shot of them! Brown all over, they have purple cheek tufts that resemble ears.

This large hummingbird, green all over, is called a Green Hermit. Its long bill is well suited for drinking from deep, trumpet flowers.

With its bright white throat this guy is aptly named White-throated Mountain Gem. It is found only in the Chiriqui Mountain Range spanning southern Costa Rica and western Panama. It looks like its more northerly counterpart, the Purple-throated Mountain Gem… sans the purple throat.
The female White-throated Mountain Gem above is identical to the female Purple-throated Mountain Gem… fortunately their ranges do not overlap! I love her subtle tones.

All images of these hummingbirds were taken with Canon DSLR bodies and a Sigma 50-500 EX zoom. Many of the closer images also used a 25mm extension tube to allow closer focus.

photos © Kevin Loughlin