Blue-chested hummingbird, Uraba, Colombia

A new day in Uraba, where our first spotting was this female Blue-chested hummingbird. Which we've seen in two locations now. The male we haven't seen so far. The species' name is not very descriptive as the male has a clear blue patch in the neck and chin area, not really the chest.

And here's the thing so typical of hummingbirds: their appearance strongly differentiating based on angle, pose, and light. Exact same bird, taken in the same minute even:

comments (5)

Christine Young

Lion

Amazing how different it can look in a different pose. Posted 7 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Absolutely, it's also this trip that I learned how very difficult it is to identify hummingbirds. Which is counter intuitive, as they seem to have a very specific appearance. Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    The diversity and variations in appearance are incredible. We only have one native species in Connecticut, but there are occasionally a few vagrants of other species who wander here by accident. Posted 7 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      By comparison, we have zero in Europe. They are exclusively a new world species. So I go from zero to hundreds when visiting Colombia with nothing in between. Posted 7 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        I had no idea. I just read that they once existed in Europe - long ago - but, are now clearly extinct. Wonder why they didn't persist. Posted 7 years ago

The Blue-chested hummingbird

The blue-chested hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Swifts And Hummingbirds

Species identified by Ferdy Christant