HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES

Honduran Emerald

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Amazilia luciae

The Honduran Emerald is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae.

It is a medium-sized hummingbird with an average length of 4 inches.

They have streamlined bodies and long tails. Most of them have green heads and whitish bellies. Bill is black on top and bright red below, with a dark tip. From their throat to the upper chest presents a pretty hue of turquoise blue, sometimes mottled gray.

Upper tails are light bronze- green, and downer tail-coverts are dark brown. The plumages are bright orange on the peripheral and lighter orange as it gets closer to the bodies.

Females and males overall look similar, although the males usually have more eye-catching colors on the throats. Females usually have entirely blackish bills.

Adults and young birds are quite different. Immature birds usually don’t have the turquoise blue hue on their throats. It is only spotted sparsely and it becomes larger and larger as they grow up.

Known to feed on at least 14 species of plants, some parasites, and has been seen to embark on Insect-catching flights lasting up to 60 seconds or longer.

These birds are also territorial, and have been seen to defend their feeding areas from invading birds, even of the same species.

Existing studies suggest a preference in thorn scrub and deciduous thorn forests within the tropical dry forest or tropical very dry forest life zones.

Found only in Honduras.

The structure of their nests is associated with a shorter height and thinner stem radius of plants in proximity. It is found open to dense thorn scrublands.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org