On a recent visit to the mountains surrounding San José, Costa Rica, we were able to spend several days in the company of these sparkling acrobats.
I had great difficultly in picking out my favorite pose, ultimately choosing the one featured in this post. So I've decided to share here some of the runner-ups as well as a bit of fun info about this little flying jewel.
Ok, now, let's see. How do I get to this sweet treat?
Let's do an investigative pass
Maybe straight down?
That worked! What good aim!
I can just picture myself trying to hoover while aiming my beak at an opening just big enough to let in the tippy tip...
Good to the last drop!. Let's clean up on the outside, too. I don't want the bees to get any of it.
Green hermits, unlike other hermit hummingbirds are dimorphic. The female has yellow facial stripes while the males has nearly black 'cheeks'.
They are generally not aggressive, but will occasionally defend a particularly good flower.
Indirect evidence of song learning came from observing neighboring Green and Little Hermits. It is thought that geographical variation is due to cultural drift acquired through song learning.
Unlike other hummingbirds, hermits usually fly in the understory of the forest where they create invisible highways of flowers with tubular corollas which their uniquely shaped bills can easily reach. They will visit the same flowers periodically, allowing enough time between each visit for the flower nectar to replenish.
Like other hermits, it also spends a lot of time gleaning spiders and insects from spiders' webs.
For much of the year, up to twenty males gather at traditional leks in dark forest understory, where they sit, tails bobbing, and call for long periods. Their "song" is a nasal, froglike note repeated about once a second—ad infinitum.
Thank you, Wendy. They are obviously our favorite little flying gems also.
If you have not already done so, you are very welcome to sign up for our Hummingbird Newsletter. It comes out about twice per month and is devoted to our favorite birds. There is always a link to unsubscribe. https://focusfrogstore.com/pages/newsletter-signup
These birds are so beautiful. They are breath taking watch and are my favorite birds.
Although we won’t be able to see these little flying jewels for awhile in person, they continue to shine through for us all. Thank you for your encouraging comments. We really appreciate it.
Beautiful, just beautiful!
The color and form portrayed in your photos is breathtaking! Thank you for all your efforts!