Thalurania colombica
The Crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) is a dazzling, medium-sized hummingbird, typically measuring 9.5-11 cm (3.7-4.3 in) in length with a weight of 3.5-5.5 g (0.12-0.19 oz). Males are unmistakable, showcasing a brilliant violet crown, an iridescent metallic green back, and a deeply forked, steely blue-black tail, complemented by an emerald-green gorget that blazes across the throat and chest. Females present a more understated elegance, with an iridescent green back, a plain white bel...
This species primarily inhabits humid evergreen forests, forest edges, and shaded coffee plantations, typically found from lowlands up to elevations of 2,000 meters, occasionally higher.
Their diet consists mainly of nectar, harvested from a diverse array of flowering plants, supplemented significantly by small arthropods caught in flight or gleaned from foliage to provide essential protein.
Crowned Woodnymphs are diurnal and largely solitary, actively foraging from dawn until dusk. Males exhibit strong territoriality, aggressively defending prime feeding patches and display perches against conspecifics and even larger insects, using sharp chattering calls during chases. Courtship in...
The Crowned Woodnymph exhibits a broad and relatively continuous distribution across Central and northern South America, primarily as a resident species with no significant migratory movements. Its range stretches from eastern Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, extending southward throu...
Least Concern
- The "Woodnymph" part of its name aptly describes its preference for shaded forest understory and edges, rather than open, sunlit habitats. - The male's brilliant violet crown can appear almost black in poor light, only revealing its true iridescent color when angled correctly to the sun. - Fema...