This is an appropriately named tropical hummingbird for what we have seen in the Northeast in the past several weeks: the Snowy-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia edward). This species was captured infrequently during the early years of banding at the Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama. The Rufous Hummingbird, another Amazilia species, was the most commonly caught hummingbird. Things have changed in the past few seasons, and the Snowy-bellied is the most commonly captured Amazilia at Cocobolo. Sean suspects the main reason for this shift is the maturation of the forest where banding takes place. When the crew first started working there it was perhaps five years removed from being used for grazing cattle. Now that approximately 15 years have passed a more mature secondary forest has filled in, making for the shifts in avian diversity and capture rates. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
