I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.
There are over 160 species of hummingbirds in Colombia! We saw many species with some rare and endemic ones.
The male 4.75" Bronze-Tailed Thornbill (Chalcostigma heteropogon) is a species of the paramo and nearby forests. He is a brownish hummer with the distinctive green and pink beard.
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| Bronze-Tailed Thornbill |
We also glimpsed the Black-backed Thornbill, a Santa Marta range endemic, but I missed the photograph.
Of course, a favorite of birders is the 5" Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera). This is an easy ID.
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| Sword-billed Hummingbird |
At that same location we saw both trainbearer species. The 8.5" male Black-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia victoriae) is an easy ID.
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| Black-tailed Trainbearer - male |
The 7" female Green-tailed Trainbearer (Lesbia nuna) has a shorter tail and spotted belly.
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| Green-tailed Trainbearer - female |
The 3.5" Versicolored Emerald (Chrysuronia versicolor) has a red bill and was the only hummer we saw in a nest on the trip. It was formerly in the amazilia genus.
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| Versicolored Emerald |
The 3.5" Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) is perhaps the most common hummingbird seen in the tropics where I have visited. It is a beautiful bird.
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| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
The 3.5" Buffy Hummingbird (Leucippus fallax) is a resident of the dry scrub coastal area of northeastern Columbia. The sexes are similar and it is also an easy ID.
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| Buffy Hummingbird |
The 4" male White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) is another common hummingbird and an easy ID with the blue head, and white belly.
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| White-necked Jacobin |
The 3.5" Glowing Puffleg (Eriocnemis vestita) is green backed with a dark tail. It would have the white feathers on his thighs if we could see them.
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| Glowing Puffleg |
Lastly is the 4" male White-vented Plumleteer (Chalybura buffonii). He is all green with a bluish breast and obvious white undertail feathers against the dark blue tail.
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| White-vented Plumleteer |
I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing
I have photos of 136 of the 359 species of hummingbirds.
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2021 David McDonald
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