Scintillant Hummingbird
Encyclopedia
The Scintillant Hummingbird (Selasphorus scintilla) is the smallest hummingbird
within its range, which includes only the mountains of Costa Rica
and western Panama
.
This tiny bird
inhabits brushy forest edges, coffee plantations and sometimes gardens at altitudes from 900-2000 m, and up to 2500 m when not breeding. It is only 6.5-8 cm (2.5-3.1 in) long, including the bill. The male weighs 2 g and the female 2.3 g. This is one of the smallest birds in existence, marginally larger than the Bee Hummingbird
. The black bill is short and straight.
The adult male Scintillant Hummingbird has bronze-green upperparts and a rufous and black-striped tail. The throat is brilliant red, separated from the cinnamon underparts by a white neck band. The female is similar, but her throat is buff with small green spots and the flanks are richer rufous. Young birds resemble the female but have rufous fringes to the upperpart plumage.
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The female Scintillant Hummingbird is entirely responsible for nest building and incubation. She lays two white eggs in her tiny plant-floss cup nest 1-4 m high in a scrub. Incubation takes 15-19 days, and fledging another 20-26.
The food of this species is nectar, taken from a variety of small flowers, including Salvia
and species normally pollinated by insect
s. Like other hummingbirds it also takes some small insects as an essential source of protein. In the breeding season Scintillant Hummingbird males perch conspicuously in open areas with Salvia and defend their feeding territories aggressively with diving displays. The call of this rather quiet species is a liquid tsip.
This species is replaced at higher elevations by its relative, the Volcano Hummingbird
, Selasphorus flammula.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
within its range, which includes only the mountains of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and western Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
This tiny bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
inhabits brushy forest edges, coffee plantations and sometimes gardens at altitudes from 900-2000 m, and up to 2500 m when not breeding. It is only 6.5-8 cm (2.5-3.1 in) long, including the bill. The male weighs 2 g and the female 2.3 g. This is one of the smallest birds in existence, marginally larger than the Bee Hummingbird
Bee Hummingbird
The Bee Hummingbird or Zunzuncito is a species of hummingbird that is endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud...
. The black bill is short and straight.
The adult male Scintillant Hummingbird has bronze-green upperparts and a rufous and black-striped tail. The throat is brilliant red, separated from the cinnamon underparts by a white neck band. The female is similar, but her throat is buff with small green spots and the flanks are richer rufous. Young birds resemble the female but have rufous fringes to the upperpart plumage.
The food of this species is nectar, taken from a variety of small flowers, including Salvia
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...
and species normally pollinated by insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. Like other hummingbirds it also takes some small insects as an essential source of protein. In the breeding season Scintillant Hummingbird males perch conspicuously in open areas with Salvia and defend their feeding territories aggressively with diving displays. The call of this rather quiet species is a liquid tsip.
This species is replaced at higher elevations by its relative, the Volcano Hummingbird
Volcano Hummingbird
The Volcano Hummingbird is a very small hummingbird which breeds only in the mountains of Costa Rica and Chiriqui, Panama....
, Selasphorus flammula.
External links
- Scintillant Hummingbird photo; Article
- Scintillant Hummingbird photo; Article
- Scintillant Hummingbird videos on the Internet Bird Collection
