HUMMINGBIRD OF CENTRAL AMERICA

Sparkling-Tailed Hummingbird

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tilmatura Dupontii

Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird

Males have long, forked, blackish tails with white bands that can be seen when folded, a glittering blue or bluish-purple, throat with a white stripe below, across the chest until the nape, they have a green crown, nape, and back. Their abdomens are dusky green.

Females are cinnamon-colored on the face, throat, chest, and abdomen, and there is a dark stripe behind each eye. Their tail is shorter, cleft and double-rounded, with green inner feathers and blackish tipped white outer feathers.

Juveniles resemble adult females.

BILL: black, straight and long.

SIZE: medium-sized, measuring from 2.6 - 3.94 inches in length - including the tail, males are generally a little larger with a length of 3.54 to 3.94 inches; and females usually are about 2.6 - 3 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs between 2.4 - 3.3 grams.

COLOR: blue, bluish-purple, black, white, green, dusky green, and cinnamon.

NECTAR from a variety of brightly colored, scented small flowers of trees, herbs, shrubs, and epiphytes.

INSECTS small spiders and insects.

Hovering, while feeding from flowers. Aggressively defends feeding territory from intruders.

NEST: cup-shaped nest out of plant fibers woven together and green moss on the outside for camouflage in a protected location in a shrub, bush or tree.

EGGS: 2 white eggs.

Subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and heavily degraded former forest.Subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and heavily degraded former forest.