Bulletin 406 - Colombia 2022 #3 - Hummingbirds Part 2

 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.

The 3.25" male Tolima Blossomcrown (Anthrocephala berlepschi) is a green hummer with a white and red cap. This was a split from the Santa Marta Blossomcrown. Both are endemic to Columbia.

Tolima Blossomcrown

The 4.75" Buff-winged Starfrontlet (Coeligena lutetei) is a large dark green hummer with a beige wing patch - an easy ID.

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

Hermits are a group of hummers that are almost all brown bodied with a curved bill and white facial stripes and long white central tail feathers. The 5" Pale-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis anthophilus) is a typical hermit. Only with a guide would the ID be known.

Pale-bellied Hermit

The 4.25" Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy), of course, is an exception. This hermit I can ID myself, as I have seen it many times now.

Green Hermit

Woodstars are among the smallest hummers. The 2.25" male Gorgeted Woodstar (Chaetocercus heliodor) is a tiny green hummer with red gorget and white breast. It is one of the smallest birds in the world.

Gorgeted Woodstar - male

The female has a buffy breast like most woodstars.

Gorgeted Woodstar - female

The second woodstar of the trip was the 2.75" Purple-throated Woodstar (Calliphlox mitchellii). This is, of course, a female as no purple throat.

Purple-throated Woodstar - female

The 4.5" Shining Sunbeam (Aglaeactis cupripennis)is a uniformly coppery-colored hummingbird. 

Shining Sunbeam

The last hummer was a definitely a top 5 highlight of the trip. This was my 3rd time to see this bird. I photographed on on the trip to Colombia last year but it was in a distant tree. This time the bird was coming to flowers in the garden of the lodge. The 3" male Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus) is just beautiful. I could sit and watch him for hours.

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird -male

Here is another photo.

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird - male

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 - 2023 David McDonald

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Bulletin 247 - Ecuador #9 - More Hummingbirds

There are 131 species of hummingbirds in Ecuador and I saw 34 of them on this trip in basically just 3 locations. Some were the same species I had seen previously, but many were new species and lifers. I showcased a number of them in Ecuador #1.  Here are the rest.

Among the more unusual hummers are the 2 species of sicklebills. They have unique almost semicircular bills. They feed on heliconia flowers and cling to the flower while feeding. They do not come to feeders and thus are harder to find. I missed this one in both Costa Rica and Panama. However, as we were getting ready to leave Buenaventura Lodge, one flew into the dining room and I was able to get photos before he was caught and released. The 4.75" White-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) has a streaked breast and white on the tips of the tail feathers.

White-tipped Sicklebill

The 4.5" Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy) is unusual for hermits as most are brown. This one came to the feeder at Copalinga Lodge. Most hermits have long white central tail feathers that allows ID as to genus.

Green Hermit

The Violet-headed Hummingbird (Klais guimeti) is an old friend as I had seen it in Panama and got great photos in Costa Rica. The male has a purple head, but the ID mark is the white spot behind the eye. This one was feeding at a flower and appeared to turn and look at me.

Violet-headed Hummingbird - male

The 4" male Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata) is green with a purple belly.

Fork-tailed Woodnymph - male

An similar colored species is the male 3" Violet-bellied Hummingbird (Damophila julie). 

Violet-bellied Hummingbird - male

The 3.25" Speckled Hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys) came to the feeder at Tapichalaca Lodge. It is a monotypic genus.

Speckled Hummingbird

Brilliants are large hummers that the guide book describes as 'readily coming to feeders' and most male are 'exceptionally attractive'. The 4.5" male Green-crowned Brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula) occurs on the west slope and was photographed at Buenaventura Lodge.
He is all green with a purple throat patch.

Green-crowned Brilliant - male

The 4.5" male Violet-fronted Brilliant (Heliodoxa leadbeateri) occurs an the east slope and has a purple forehead. The juvenile male shown here has a blue forehead, bronze face and lacks the solid green underparts.

Violet-fronted Brilliant - juvenile male

The next 3 species are all residents of the cloud forest on the east slope and were photographed at Tapichalaca Lodge. The 4" male Chestnut-breasted Coronet (Boissonneaua matthewsii) is green with a bright rufous breast and belly.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet - male

The 4.25" Collared Inca (Coeligena torquata) is dark green with a white chest and long bill.

Collared Inca

The 7.25" male Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) is green with a blue crown and long turquoise tail.

Long-tailed Sylph - male

The last 2 birds are called woodstars. They are tiny bee-like hummers. They usually have white flank patches. The 2.5" female White-bellied Woodstar (Chaetocercus mulsant) has a white throat and central white belly with rufous sides. The white flank patch is clearly seen on this bird with her tongue protruding.

White-bellied Woodstar - female

The 2.5" female Purple-collared Woodstar (Myrtis fanny) is green with mostly rufous underparts.

Purple-collared Woodstar - female

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.