Santa Marta Blossomcrown

Anthocephala floriceps

Small hummingbird found only in cloud forest in Colombia’s Santa Marta Mountains. Both sexes have a large, white teardrop behind the eye and pale tips to the tail. Male also has a chestnut crown. Feeds at patches of small flowers at relatively low levels. Males gather loosely in favored display areas, where they perch and sing a long series of soft chips.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Anthocephala floriceps
Authority
(Gould, 1853)
Order
Apodiformes
Family
Trochilidae
Genus
Anthocephala

Range and habitat

Migration
Vertical migration

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle

Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle

Circaetus beaudouini

Chunky dark brown raptor with a white belly marked by thin bars. Immatures are brown when perched, and show rufous patches in the underwing in flight. Found in savanna habitats. Soars frequently and sometimes hovers. Very similar to Short-toed Snake-Eagle, but has darker upperparts and narrower dark bars on the belly; the front of the underwings looks white and unbarred in flight. Immature similar to immature Black-breasted and Short-toed Snake-Eagles, but identified by the rufous patches on the underwings.

Palau Scops-Owl

Palau Scops-Owl

Otus podarginus

A reddish-brown owl with a large rounded head, pale whitish eyebrows, and no ear tufts. Upperparts spotted with black-tipped white spots. Legs unfeathered and whitish. Found in a wide range of forest, mostly in lowlands, frequently near villages. No other owls occur on Palau. Voice includes a long series of deep “whok” notes rising in intensity, finishing in a sharp “quirt-quirt” whistle.

Black-bellied Sunbird

Black-bellied Sunbird

Cinnyris nectarinioides

A slim, long-billed sunbird in which breeding males and females are very different. Breeding males are mostly dark iridescent green with a red band across the underparts. The red band is bordered by narrow yellow stripes in the southern part of the range. Females are plain, with gray-brown upperparts and pale underparts with dark streaking. Found in dry thorn savanna. Similar to Beautiful Sunbird, but breeding males are separated by the less extensive or absent yellow in their belly band, and females by being more streaked below. The common calls are quiet chips and “tip” notes, and the song is a high-pitched jumble typical of sunbirds. 

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