HUMMINGBIRDS   -   TROCHILIDAE   -   PART III

White-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia chionogaster hypoleucus Urubamba, Cusco department, Peru. Probably a male due to the immaculate white chin and throat. Some taxonomists place it in the genus Leucippus. (D2)

White-bellied Emerald Amazilia candida genini Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz state, Mexico. (S5)

White-chested Emerald Amazilia brevirostris chionopectus Guaraunos, Sucre state, Venezuela. Female. Not an easy ID, but the all black bill rules out most of the similar species. Normally it shows more of a copper rump. The gray tips to the outer tail feathers indicate that it's probably a female. (D3)

Versicolored Emerald Amazilia versicolor versicolor Hotel do Ypê, Itatiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. A variable species, even within the same race. Some birds, especially near the coast, show large amounts of white on the throat. This individual shows only white fringing to the feathers on its chin and central throat. (D3)

Andean Emerald Amazilia franciae viridiceps Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Probably a male due to the bluish tinge on the crown. Some ornithologists put it (and the previous sp.) in the genus Agyrtria. (S5f)		Andean Emerald Amazilia franciae viridiceps Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Female. (D2)

Glittering-throated Emerald Amazilia fimbriata tephrocephala Guapi Assu Bird Lodge, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. (D3)		Sapphire-spangled Emerald Amazilia lactea lactea Carmo, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. (D3)

Berylline Hummingbird Amazilia beryllina sumichrasti North of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia edward edward Canopy Tower, Panama province, Panama. Probably a male. It's range is centered on Panama, reaching into SW Costa Rica, and only barely making it into Colombia. Sometimes placed in the genus Saucerottia. (S2f)

Green-bellied (Copper-tailed) Hummingbird Amazilia viridigaster cupreicauda Iwokrama Forest, Potaro-Siparuni region, Guyana. The grayish belly indicates that this is probably a juvenile. At only 50 m above sea level, this is an extremely low record for this species, which normally is found in mountains. (S3)

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl jucunda Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Male. A common hummer of more open habitats and forest edge. It tolerates a very wide elevational range; this one was photographed near feeders at 1750 m. (D3)

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl jucunda Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador. A different angle showing the tail well. (S4)

Cinnamon Hummingbird Amazilia rutila rutila Zipolite, Oaxaca state, Mexico. (S5)		Green-fronted Hummingbird Amazilia viridifrons viridifrons North of Arriaga, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Coppery-headed Emerald Elvira cupreiceps La Cinchona, Heredia provinca, Costa Rica. Male. One of the only four species endemic to mainland Costa Rica. (D3)

Snowcap Microchera albocoronata parvirostris Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica. A fantastic little hummer, unlike any other in the world. Here it is perched in a Verbena bush, a favorite food source. It is particularly easy to see at Rancho Naturalista, but can also be found in the lower parts of Braulio Carrillo National Park, even right along the main highway. (D3)

Blossomcrown Anthocephala floriceps floriceps El Dorado reserve, Santa Marta mountains, Colombia. Male. This little hummer is endemic to Colombia, yet has a rather disjunct range. This one is from the Santa Marta mountains, but there is another subspecies (berlepschi) endemic to the southern part of the central Andes. (D3)

White-vented Plumeleteer Chalybura buffonii intermedia Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador. Female. This isolated form in SW Ecuador and NW Peru is somewhat of an enigma. HBW put it as a race of Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer (C. urochrysia), while Ridgely & Greenfield suggest it might be better treated as a separate species. (P1f)

White-vented Plumeleteer Chalybura buffonii micans Canopy Tower, Panama province, Panama. A male of one of the more "typical" races. (S2)		White-vented Plumeleteer Chalybura buffonii aeneicauda Choroní road, Aragua state, Venezuela. Another male. (D3)

Green-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis viridipallens ovandensis Tacaná Volcano, Chiapas state, Mexico. Male. (S5)

White-bellied Mountain-gem Lampornis hemileucus La Cinchona, Heredia provinca, Costa Rica. Female. (D3)

Purple-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis calolaemus calolaemus Bosque de Paz, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. Female. This species and the next are sometimes lumped as Variable Mountain-gem L. castaneoventris (e.g. HBW). Females are essentially identical. (S5)		White-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis castaneoventris cineriecauda Savegre Lodge, San José province, Costa Rica. Male. This race is sometimes split off and called Gray-tailed Mountain-gem. (D3)

Speckled Hummingbird Adelomyia melanogenys melanogenys Cabañas San Isidro, Napo province, Ecuador. A common and widespread hummer found in middle elevations of the tropical Andes as well as the coastal range of Venezuela. (D2)

Speckled Hummingbird Adelomyia melanogenys maculata Utuana reserve, Loja province, Ecuador. The race found west of the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru. It is slightly duller than the nominate. (S5)

Brazilian Ruby Clytolaema rubricauda Hotel do Ypê, Itatiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. A monotypic genus, but thought to be related to the Heliodoxa brilliants (below). (D2)

Velvet-browed Brilliant Heliodoxa xanthogonys Sierra de Lema (La Escalera), Bolívar state, Venezuela. Male. Endemic to the tepui region. (D3)

Fawn-breasted Brilliant Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Male. (D3)		Fawn-breasted Brilliant Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Female, without the glittering pink throat patch. (D3)

Green-crowned Brilliant Heliodoxa jacula jamesoni Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Two females. (S5)

Green-crowned Brilliant Heliodoxa jacula jamesoni Mirador Rio Blanco, Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador. Male. (S6)		Violet-fronted Brilliant Heliodoxa leadbeateri sagitta Copalinga Lodge, Zamora-Chinchipe prov., Ecuador Male. The sister species of Green-crowned Brilliant, replacing it east of the Andes. (S5)

Empress Brilliant Heliodoxa imperatrix Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Male. A big and beautiful Chocó endemic. I photographed this one at nearly dusk, where the soft ambient late really made the subtle iridescence of the belly and forecrown stand out. (D3)		Empress Brilliant Heliodoxa imperatrix Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Female, probably an immature. (P1f)

Magnificent Hummingbird Eugenes fulgens spectabilis Bosque de Paz, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. Male. Compared the the more northerly nominate subspecies, this one has more blue in the gorget and paler underparts. (S5)		Magnificent Hummingbird Eugenes fulgens spectabilis Bosque de Paz, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. Male. This bird was coming the the feeders at the same time as the hummer on the left. I suspect it is a partial albino. (S5)

Scissor-tailed Hummingbird Hylonympha macrocerca Parque Nacional Península de Paria, Sucre state, Venezuela. Male. A beautifully unique, yet rare and threatened hummer - this photo hardly does it justice. I include it only because it is so rare. It survives in a tiny area of montane cloudforest in far Northeast Venezuela, only 230 sq. km. according to BirdLife International. Fortunately nearly all of its range occurs in a national park, but as is so often the case, this does not translate into serious protection, and its future can hardly be considered secure. (D3)

Buff-tailed Coronet Boissonneaua flavescens tinochlora Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Probably a male. In Ecuador, this species is far more common on the west slope of the Andes than the east. I suspect this is because the Chestnut-breasted Coronet (below), does not occur on the west slope, and these two similar species overlap widely in elevation where they are sympatric. (S6)		Buff-tailed Coronet Boissonneaua flavescens flavescens Guango Lodge, Napo province, Ecuador. Definitely a juvenile with the short bill and cinnamon markings on the head. (P1f)

Chestnut-breasted Coronet Boissonneaua matthewsii Cabañas San Isidro, Napo province, Ecuador. (D3)

Velvet-purple Coronet Boissonneaua jardini Finca Mindo Lindo, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. One of favorite of all the hummers. It's unique plumage seems to scintillate between every imaginable shade of black, blue, purple, and green, with the occasional shocking flash of pure white from its tail. It's another Chocó endemic, fortunately now easily seen in the Tandayapa-Mindo area of NW Ecuador. (P1f)

Velvet-purple Coronet Boissonneaua jardini El Siete, near the Mindo turnoff, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Probably a male. Note how the colors look different in this natural light shot, compared with the flashed shot above. (S5)

Website design and all photos copyright Nick Athanas
For questions, comments, or photograph licensing info, please email