Birds & Birding in Costa Rica: – Costa Rica’s national motto and tourism slogan, “La Pura Vida” loosely translates to Live Life or Enjoy Life. With over 900 bird species recorded here, there is certainly lots to enjoy! With 12 of the world’s 18 life zones, its diverse landscapes, including tropical rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, and savannas, provide habitat for a wide range of iconic birds A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
BLACK-CRESTED COQUETTE – (Species Account Blog #32)
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Caprimulgiformes,
- FAMILY: Trochilidae,
- BINOMIAL NAME: Lophornis helenae
Found from southeastern Mexico to eastern Costa Rica, Black-crested is the only species of coquette to inhabit the Atlantic slope of Middle America. Male Black-crested Coquettes are characterized by their green throat and crown, the latter topped by a wispy black crest; the bronzy breast band; and elongated black-and-buff cheek feathers. Like all coquettes, the females are decidedly less ‘fancy-looking’ creatures, lacking the green throat, and the cheek and crest adornments. Both sexes have the narrow white rump band that is typical of the genus. (from Birds of the World)
OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
Over the course of the 2 weeks we were in Costa Rica I was fortunate to record 36 species of hummingbirds. This species was at the top of my list of most wanted, just behind Snowcap. We were fortunate to see them feeding on the verbena with both a male and female Snowcap at Rancho Naturalista. We also saw them towards the end of our trip at Arenal Observatory.
PHOTO GALLERY
View the three most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.
- A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
- PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
Reflections of the Natural World 
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