Blue-throated Sapphire (Hylocharis eliciae)
Here we see a Blue-throated Sapphire (Hylocharis eliciae) going in to investigate a flower to feed on. This common dry forest species of the pacific side of Costa Rica is always a gorgeous bird to encounter. Photographed by RTPI Affilate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreFour Costa Rican Hummingbirds
Four species of resident Costa Rican hummingbirds: the Cinnamon Hummingbird (Amazilia rutila), Blue-throated Sapphire (Hylocharis eliciae), Steely-vented Hummingbird (Amazilia saucerottei) and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl). These are species RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser catches often in his banding work. Sean says they species that commonly occur in degraded former forest or the dry secondary forest that occurs on the Nicoya Peninsula. They can add a glimmer of beautiful color to the dry and sometimes very uniform habitat. It’s bird week at Meet Your Neighbours –...
Read MorePerched Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae)
Check out the raw beauty of this perched Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser. Hummingbird season never ends for our friends in Costa Rica. It’s a green, green world every day of the year. There are hundreds of individuals of at least 11 species hanging out with our crew. Keep an eye out for a ridiculous video of them feeding at several feeders that we will be featuring soon.
Read MoreBanded Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae)
While editing images from this weekend I noticed something on this Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae). It was banded, and you can see the metal band we used last year. We haven’t started banding Hummingbirds yet this year – thus it must be at least two years old. It’s one of the smaller of the eleven species that visits the feeders here at Finca. Sean Graesser RTPI Affiliate
Read MoreHummingbird frenzy!
Hummingbird frenzy! Check out all of these hummingbirds, sometimes over 50 at one time and several hundred in a short period, visiting feeders at Finca Pura Vida in Costa Rica. The most common species in the video is the Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) with others including Long-billed Starthroat (Heliomaster longirostris), Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae), Scaly-breasted Hummingbird (Phaeochroa cuvierii), White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora). There are also a few Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) in the mix! They may be in your backyard this...
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