Saucerottia edward
The Snowy-bellied Hummingbird (*Saucerottia edward*) is a medium-sized, strikingly iridescent jewel of Central American forests. Males are easily identified by their brilliant glittering green crown, back, and upper breast, sharply contrasting with a pristine snowy-white belly, vent, and undertail coverts. Their straight, entirely black bill complements a distinguishing coppery-rufous tail with dusky tips, and a subtle white spot behind the eye further aids identification. Measuring approxima...
Found in humid to semi-humid forest borders, clearings, secondary growth, coffee plantations, and gardens. Typically occurs at elevations from sea level to 1,500 meters, occasionally higher.
Primarily feeds on nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants, supplemented by small arthropods (insects and spiders) for protein, which it catches in flight or gleans from foliage.
The Snowy-bellied Hummingbird is a highly active, diurnal species, dedicating most daylight hours to foraging and territorial defense. It employs a traplining foraging strategy, repeatedly visiting a circuit of favored flowering plants for nectar, but also aggressively defends productive flower p...
The Snowy-bellied Hummingbird is a resident species endemic to the humid and semi-humid regions of Central America, specifically Costa Rica and Panama. Its distribution extends from the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of Costa Rica southward through Panama to the Darién Gap, with two recognized subs...
Least Concern
- The scientific name *edward* honors Prince Edward of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, not a human discoverer as is common for many species. - It can beat its wings up to 80 times per second during normal flight, allowing it to hover with unmatched precision before flowers. - Its brilliant iridescent plumage ...