Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
Saucerottia edward
Medium-sized hummingbird, distinctive within limited range: overall shimmering green with sharply defined white belly. Wings are browner and rump is coppery. Sexes alike. Found around open forest edges and second growth, usually singly.
Identification
The snowy-bellied hummingbird is 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh 5 to 5.4 g (0.18 to 0.19 oz) and females 4.3 to 5.2 g (0.15 to 0.18 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a straight blackish bill whose mandible has a reddish base. Adult males of the nominate subspecies S. e. edward have bronze-green upperparts that are especially coppery in the back and rump. Their tail is bronze to coppery and sometimes has a purple sheen. Their throat and chest are glittering golden green, the belly has a V-shaped white center, and the undertail coverts are rufous. Adult females are similar to males but with a less intense green on their upperparts, a more whitish throat and undertail coverts, and light green tips on the outer tail feathers.<p>Subspecies S. e. niveoventer is slightly larger than the nominate and its tail is bluish black to purplish black. S. e. collata has less contrast between the green and copper of the back than the nominate and brownish undertail coverts. S. e. margaritarum has paler undertail coverts than the nominate and a bronze to bronze-green tail.
Taxonomy
The snowy-bellied hummingbird was formerly placed in the genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Amazilia was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the snowy-bellied hummingbird was moved by most taxonomic systems to the resurrected genus Saucerottia. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it in Amazilia.<p>The snowy-bellied hummingbird has these four subspecies:<p>Subspecies S. e. niveoventer has been suggested as a separate species based on the color of its tail but this treatment has not gained acceptance.
- Scientific name
- Saucerottia edward
- Authority
- (Delattre & Bourcier, 1846)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Saucerottia
Range and habitat
The subspecies of snowy-bellied hummingbird are found thus:<p>The snowy-bellied hummingbird inhabits different landscapes across its distribution. In Costa Rica and western Panama it favors semi-open areas such as savanna, scrublands with scattered trees, edges and clearings of primary forest, secondary forest, coffee plantations, and gardens. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). S. e. collata inhabits fields with low herbs and bushes at elevations between 500 and 850 m (1,600 and 2,800 ft). On islands, S. e. margaritarum inhabits semi-open to open landscapes like abandoned fields and also mangroves; on the mainland it is found in rainforest. In elevation it ranges between sea level and 700 m (2,300 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Jamaican Oriole
Icterus leucopteryx
A fruit-loving inhabitant of woodlands and gardens. Adult is yellow (often tinged green or orange), sports a black beard, and has very large white wing patches covering half of the otherwise black wing. Immatures look similar, but they have two broad white wingbars instead of a white patch. Immature male Orchard Oriole looks somewhat similar, but it is smaller and lacks the bold white wing markings seen on Jamaican Orioles. Songs include a rapid series of rich, whistled, and mostly down-slurred phrases and “cheat-you, cheat-you, cheat-you, cheat-you, cheat.”
Elegant Trogon
Trogon elegans
Striking male has bronzy-green head and breast and bright red belly; female grayish-brown with limited red belly and distinctive white squiggle behind eye. Compare with Mountain Trogon, which overlaps extensively in range. Note undertail pattern: fine black-and-white barring with large white tips on the feathers. Habitat is also useful; Elegant typically found at lower elevations than Mountain, but some overlap. Occurs from Arizona to Costa Rica in thorn forest, canyons, and mountains up to around 2000 m, locally higher. Like other trogons, stoic and unobtrusive, often sitting still for long periods of time and sallying out quickly to catch insects. Listen for series of harsh descending barks.
Little Tinamou
Crypturellus soui
Furtive, almost tailless small game bird that lives on the ground in humid tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge and dense secondary growth rather than forest interior. When disturbed runs rather than flies. Very rarely seen (sometimes crosses quiet roads or trails), but tremulous whistles are often heard, especially early and late in the day. Plumage is dark brownish overall with grayer head and whitish throat.
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