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

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GREEN-CROWNED BRILLIANT – (Species Account Blog #33)

ABOUT THIS SPECIES

TAXONOMIC TREE:  

• ORDER: Caprimulgiformes,
• FAMILY: Trochilidae,
• BINOMIAL NAME: Heliodoxa jacula

The Green-crowned Brilliant is a fairly large hummingbird, sleek and long-tailed with straight bill. Male is entirely emerald green with small blue throat patch only visible at some angles. Female has spotted green breast; note conspicuous white mustache stripe and white spot behind eye. It is locally common and readily seen in forest and adjacent human-altered habitats from the foothills to the highlands, where it frequently visits artificial feeders. (from Birds of the World)

OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

We saw 5 of these all-over emerald green hummingbirds while at the Galeria de Colibrí y Soda Cinchona – Mirador San Fernando, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica. Like many hummingbird species, the Green-crowned Brilliant is poly-morphic with very different forms of 1) Adult Male, 2) Adult Female and 3) Immature Male.

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