Spot-winged Grosbeak

Very large for a hummingbird; size alone separates from many other species. Distinctive in range. Males are green overall; head appears black until it hits the light and reveals an iridescent purple crown and turquoise throat. Females duller with fuzzy mottled appearance on grayish underparts and some greenish on sides. Note the large white spot behind the eye that trails into a messy eyeline. Females have a longer and slightly more decurved bill than males. Used to be called Magnificent Hummingbird, but recently split into Rivoli’s Hummingbird (from southwest U.S. to Nicaragua) and Talamanca Hummingbird (found in mossy cloud forest in Costa Rica and Panama). Fairly common; visits hummingbird feeders.

Brightly-colored tree-dwelling pigeon. Adult male has a powder-pink neck, orange breast patch, gray-blue head, and yellow belly. Adult female is much plainer, tea-green above and brighter yellow-green below. Both sexes have striking black-and-yellow wing feathers and yellow spotting on the undertail coverts. Adaptable, and can be found in mangroves, open coastal forests, parks, gardens, and plantation edges. Primarily a lowland species, but can on occasion be found in foothills. Social, often gathering in flocks; occasionally mixes with other green-pigeons. Unlike many other pigeons, not very vocal; occasionally gives strange, alien-sounding coos.

Fantastic cloud forest hummingbird found in the eastern Andes from southern Colombia to central Peru. Male has a straight tail ending in rackets and buffy leg puffs. On female, note the combination of short bill, white underparts scaled with green, white facial marks, and buffy thighs. She is quite similar to female Rufous-vented Whitetip, but has buff (not white) thighs and fewer markings on throat. May overlap with Rufous-booted Racket-tail at the southern edge of its range; male Peruvian Racket-tail has straight central tail feathers that do not cross; females of the two species look almost identical. Typically feeds at small flowers at forest edge or in clearings, and sometimes visits feeders.