Three hummingbirds that inhabit the Central Valley of Costa Rica

A trip to the Central Valley proved fruitful in the hummingbird department. We were at La Paz Waterfall Gardens to take family photos for a client there on vacation. The La Paz staff invited us to stay as long as we’d like and gave us cute wooden bracelets. The area for hummingbirds has three large, fuscia bougainvilleas all with hummingbird feeders about six to one bush. The already fast hummingbirds were darting around like crack addicts at a DEA bust. If someone on the staff notices a camera backpack or large DSLR they promptly set up a heliconia and pour sugar water into the flowers bracts. It’s not our preferred method to get bird photos but we were gettin while the gettin was good if you know what I mean.

Green Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird (Heliodoxa jacula)

Just as the name suggests this hummingbird is a brilliant green in the sunlight. He sparkled like I imagine an emerald might if just underneath the aqua blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. When feeding they prefer to perch (sit) rather than hover and can be found as low as 100 meters in secondary growth forest edges. 13 cm

Purple Throated Mountain Gem (Lampornis calolaemus)

This species is endemic (only found in) to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Only 10 cm long. This bird prefers higher elevations.

Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus)

The shimmering violet feathers set this bird apart from all others. This is a male as the female has a mostly gray underside with just a patch of purple on her neck. Unlike the other hummingbirds listed this Sabrewing prefers the dense vegetation of mature forests. The largest of the three at 15 cm.