Bulletin 404 - Colombia 2022 #1 - Hummingbirds Part 1

I was planning to go to Peru in 2022 but there were riots and road closures in the areas we were planning to go. So at the last minute I went back to Colombia and saw some other places. 

Unfortunately, there was a lot of overlap, so I did not get a lot of new birds on the trip. However, many areas now have set up feeding stations and several were built for photography. I used the same guide Pablo Florez and I had my daughter with me on the trip this year.

However on the bright side, the setups for photography and the number of places that had feeders allowed me to get many improved photos of birds I had not so good photos before.

There are several genera of hummingbirds that are called emeralds. The 3.5" Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae) was formerly in the genus Amazilia. It is a green backed hummingbird with a snow white breast and a blue cap.

Andean Emerald

The 3" Red-billed Emerald (Chlorostilbon gibsoni) is another bird named for a seldom seen field mark. Only the lower mandible is red. However in the photo it can be seen. I certainly did not see it in the binoculars.

Red-billed Emerald

His cousin, the 2.75" female Short-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon poortmani) is green with whitish underparts. The tail is tipped with white and does not extend beyond the wing tips.

Short-tailed Emerald

The 3.5" male Blue-headed Sapphire (Chrysuronia grayi) is all green with a blue head and red bill.

Blue-headed Sapphire - male

His cousin the 3.5" male Shining-green Hummingbird (Chrysuronia goudoti) is all green with a bluish throat. The bill is slightly curved.

Shining-green Hummingbird - male

The 4" male Mountain Velvetbreast (Lafresnaya lafresnayi) is green with black belly and curved bill. I had seen this bird before, but this time I was so close that I got a photo clear enough to see that it really does look like black velvet.

Mountain Velvetbreast - male

The 4" male Fawn-breasted Brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides) is green backed, buffy below and he has a pink throat spot but here just looks dark.

Fawn-breasted Brilliant - male

Hummers with long bills or tails are always a delight to see. The 7" male Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) is all green with a long green tail.

Long-tailed Sylph - male

The female lacks the long tail and is buffy on the belly with a green streaked throat.

Long-tailed Sylph - female

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 147 of the 360 species of hummingbirds.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2022 David McDonald

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