SNOWCAP – Pura Vida Birds and Birding – Reflections of the Natural World

Male @ Rancho Naturalista, Cartago, Costa Rica

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

BIRDS & BIRDING IN COSTA RICA WEBSITE LINK

SNOWCAP – (Species Account Blog #48)

ABOUT THIS SPECIES

TAXONOMIC TREE:

ORDER: Caprimulgiformes,
FAMILY: Trochilidae,
BINOMIAL NAME: Microchera albocoronata

Snowcap is a spectacular, tiny hummingbird of Central American cloud forests. The male is black overall, but with a unique purple or bronze iridescence on the upperparts. Its namesake white crown is brilliant and constrasts sharply with the dark body plumage. The female is less spectacular, but the combination of small size, green upperparts, clean white underparts, and extensive white in the outer rectrices contrasting with a dark terminal tail band is distinctive. (from Birds of the World)

Snowcap Distribution Map (from Birds of the World)

OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

Other than the obvious Respelendent Quetzal, no other bird was more sought after by me on this journey than the SNOWCAP! I was so motivated to see and photograph this little jewel that we made arrangements to be picked up at our airport hotel at 4:00 am the morning before our Eagle-eye Tour officially started for the long 3-hour taxi drive to Rancho Naturalista. Grateful to our guide, Michael Montenegro for getting us to the Rancho Bajo portion of the facility where we got killer views of a male, a female and aimmature male.