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)

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.

PHOTO GALLERY (lots!)

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