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 4.25" male Blue-throated Starfrontlet (Coeligena helianthea) is a 'fancy one' to quote our guide Pablo. He has a pink belly and blue rump.
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| Blue-throated Starfrontlet - male |
The female is duller with a spotted breast and belly. She has on orange throat.
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| Blue-throated Starfrontlet - female |
Their cousin, the 4.5" White-tailed Starfrontlet (Coeligena phalerata) is endemic to the the Santa Marta mountains. He is green with a conspicuous white tail - an easy ID in that range.
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| White-tailed Starfrontlet |
Woodstars are tiny hummingbirds. The 2.25" male Santa Marta Woodstar (Chaetocercus astreans) is the only woodstar in the Santa Marta range. They sit on top of the trees, so difficult to get a good photo. But he is a green hummer with a red throat and forked tail.
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| Santa Marta Woodstar - male |
The female is buffy below with a square tail.
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| Santa Marta Woodstar - female |
The 2.75" female White-bellied Woodstar (Chaetocercus mulsant) is green backed, mostly white below and rusaty flanks. The male has a purple throat.
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| White-bellied Woodstar - female |
The 3.5" Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) is dull brown with the characteristic purple cheek feathers. The sexes are similar.
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| Brown Violetear |
His cousin the 4.75" Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans) is a stunning bird as all his feathers truly sparkle. The sexes are similar. I always enjoy seeing this hummer.
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| Sparkling Violetear |
The 3" male Tyrial Metaltail (Metallura tyrianthina) is green with a bluish throat and reddish tail.
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| Tyrial Metaltail - male |
The female is paler with an orange throat. However, this is the Santa Marta subspecies (districta).It is a likely split.
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| Tyrial Metaltail - female Santa Marta ssp |
The 3.5" male Crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) has a green throat and chest and blue crown, belly and back. A real stunner!.
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| Crowned Woodnymph - male |
The 4.5" male Lazuline Sabrewing (Campylopterus fulcatus) is a green hummer with a blue throat. He has a curved bill.
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| Lazuline Sabrewing - male |
Lastly was a treat - the 3" male Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird (Chyrsolampis mosquitus). This bird has a red head and nape of neck along with an orange throat. This was a lifer for me.
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| Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird - male |
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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