Plain Capped Starthroat & Berylline Hummingbirds

I mentioned on Wednesday going to Montosa Canyon to find the Plain Capped Starthroat and Berylline Hummingbirds that had been reported there. As I explained, I failed to find either of them. However, I thought I could dig up a couple of old photos I have taken of each.

First the Berylline. Adults are four inches and metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly. The tail and primary wings are rufous in color and slightly forked. The underwing is also rufous making it easier to identify in flight. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. It is very dark red in coloration, almost black. The female is less colorful than the male. They feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Its normal habitat is forests and thickets ranging from Western Mexico to Central Honduras. It strays to southeastern Arizona during the summer months. It is also known to breed occasionally while in Arizona. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. The Berylline is essentially non-migratory.

Female Berylline Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat. Adults are five inches with metallic bronze on their upper-parts, tail, back and crown. They have white "lightning bolt" above and in back of their eye. The Starthroat also has a white patch on the rump (which no other North American Hummingbird has). The gorget is purple. The breast and underparts are a grayish white. The bill is straight, long and very slender. It is darkly colored. The female is slightly less colorful than the male.

Their range is from Western Mexico to Southern Costa Rica. It is a rare visitor to the US being reported in the Chiricahua Mountains, Huachuca Mountains, Santa Rita Mountains (Montosa Canyon as well as Patagonia), and in 2007 at Agua Caliente Park four miles from us. They, too, feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Plain Capped Starthroat