HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES

Violet-bellied Hummingbird

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Damophila Julie

The Violet-bellied Hummingbird is characterized by the male's shimmering violet belly. The rest of its body is just as brilliant. Its back and crown being a metallic green.

The violet belly, however, is not shared between the sexes as this species exhibits sexual dimorphism. The characteristics they do share include long, rounded tails, straight and short bills, and pink lower mandibles.

On average males are 2.95 inches long and weigh 3.4 grams and females are 2.75 inches long and weigh 3.0 grams.

Adult males have a violet blue breast and belly, metallic green back, crown and throat. Rump is more of a bronze green. Retrices are a blue black while the belly and undertail coverts are a dull black with a blue/green sheen. Around the tibia are white tufts which are framed by partly white spots on its belly. The feathers on its wings are dusky with a purple sheen.

Adult females are more dull than its male counterpart. Though its back, crown, and throat, is a similar metallic bronze green, its belly is a pale gray rather than a bright violet. Its rump and uppertail coverts are more bronze than green while undertail coverts are a dull brown gray. The retrices can also be a blue black or a blueish green, and the outer retrices are tipped with pale gray. Similar to the males, the females' wings are dusky with a purple sheen.

Immature males are similar to the adult females but may have some patches of violet on their belly or a sparkling green foreneck.

Consumes nectar from plants in the Rubiaceae, Ericaceae, Gesneriaceae (Besleria), and Fabaceae (Inga) families. They also eat small arthropods.

Found in forests and edges, often feeding on small flowers at lower to middle levels.

Found in central Panama, through Columbia, extending to southwestern Ecuador and the extreme northwestern point of Peru.

The female is responsible for building the nest and rearing the young. She builds a nest from plant fibers, animal hair and feathers in a shrub or a tree, approximately 1.2 - 4.2 meters above ground.

She lays 2 white eggs and incubates for about 15 days.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://ebird.org