Garnet-throated Hummingbird
Lamprolaima rhami
Large, spectacular, and solidly built hummingbird of humid evergreen and pine-evergreen forest in mountains; uncommon. Feeds at all levels on flowers and sometimes perches on prominent high twigs. Most striking feature is the bright rusty wings, which typically flash brightly as it hovers at flowers; also note the big white spot behind the eye. Male often looks blackish below; the pink throat rarely catches the light. Female is dusky grayish below.
Identification
The garnet-throated hummingbird is 12 to 12.4 cm (4.7 to 4.9 in) long and weighs 5.6 to 7.1 g (0.20 to 0.25 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. The adult male's upperparts are iridescent green. Much of the face is black, with a small white spot behind the eye. The gorget is shining rosy pink and the breast iridescent violet-blue. The rest of the underparts are blackish with mottled green flanks. The wings are rufous with dark brown tips to the feathers. The tail is dark purple with gray tips on the outer feathers. The adult female also has iridescent green upperparts. The underparts are dusky gray, usually with small pinkish dots on the throat. The wings and tail are similar to the male's but the outer tail feathers have white tips. Juvenile males are similar to the adult female but with darker underparts and buff fringes on the chest feathers. Juvenile females are similar to the adult but with buff fringes on the head feathers.
Taxonomy
The garnet-throated hummingbird is the only member of genus Lamprolaima, a name which is a combination of two Greek words: lampros, meaning brilliant or radiant and laimos, meaning throat. The specific epithet commemorates Henri-Casimir de Rham, a Swiss diplomat to the United States who was founder of the Swiss Benevolent Society in New York, a businessman, naturalist, and collector.
- Scientific name
- Lamprolaima rhami
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1839)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lamprolaima
Range and habitat
The garnet-throated hummingbird is found discontinuously from Mexico's Guerrero, Puebla, and Veracruz states south through Guatemala into El Salvador and Honduras. It inhabits the interior and edges of tropical forest, cloudforest, and pine-oak forest and also scrublands. In elevation it ranges between 1,200 and 3,000 m (3,900 and 9,800 ft) but is most numerous between 1,500 and 2,300 m (4,900 and 7,500 ft); in Honduras it occurs only above 1,600 m (5,200 ft).
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The garnet-throated hummingbird moves between higher elevation during the breeding season to lower elevation outside it.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella
Male distinctive, with bright yellow head, yellowish underparts. Female is drab and streaky, usually with yellowish wash to face, and often found with bright males. Note bright rusty rump. White outer tail feathers flash in flight. A species of heathland, forest clearings, and farmland with hedges. Male sings from a prominent perch, giving a dry and uninspired “dzidzidzidzidzi.” Forms flocks in winter, feeding mainly on ground in search of seeds. A native of Eurasia, introduced to New Zealand and a few adjacent islands.
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A small, gorgeous swallow with blue-black upperparts, rump, and face, and uniform rich rufous chin, throat and underparts. In flight the underwing coverts are rufous. The juvenile is duller than the adult. Singles or pairs are scarce in grassland and savanna, often associated with the edges of swamps, rivers and partially flooded areas. Similar Red-throated Swallow has a reddish rump and is less rufous below than the much more neatly-plumaged Black-and-Rufous Swallow; other similar swallows are larger with longer tails, red rumps and paler underwing coverts.
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