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
BRONZE-TAILED PLUMELETEER – (Species Account Blog #46)
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Caprimulgiformes,
- FAMILY: Trochilidae,
- BINOMIAL NAME: Chalybura urochrysia
The Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer is a widespread but uncommon hummingbird and is often identified by its pink feet and pinkish lower mandible. The subspecies found in Costa Rica and Nicaragua does not actually have a bronze tail as the name implies (sometimes called Red-footed Plumeleteer there instead).These fairly large hummingbirds mainly frequent the understory and middle levels of humid and wet forests edges where they primarily forage on flowers of large herbs and shrubs or flycatch. (from Birds of the World)
OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
We saw two of these very prominent hummingbirds at Rancho Naturalista and another at Arenal Observatory Lodge.
PHOTO GALLERY
View the five 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 