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
WHITE-BELLIED MOUNTAIN-GEM – (Species Account Blog #37)
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Caprimulgiformes,
- FAMILY: Trochilidae,
- BINOMIAL NAME: Lampornis hemileucus
The White-bellied Mountain-Gem is distinguished by its white stripe behind the eye, white underparts, and bronzy tail. It frequents the canopy and edge of cool, wet forests, and also ventures down to shrub level in gaps and open parts of the forest. (from Birds of the World)
OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
While at the Galeria de Colibrí y Soda Cinchona we saw our second (White-throated was at Miriam’s Quetzal Restaurant) of the three hoped for Mountain-gem hummingbirds. We saw a female, but missed a male by just a little. This species is more of a mid-elevation hummingbird that will come to feeders. Our attention was constantly being pulled many ways by the Prong-billed Barbets, Northern Emerald-Toucanets and Black-bellied Hummingbirds!
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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