Return of Bird of the Week: Speckled Hummingbird
Not all hummingbirds are spectacular. Some are a little drab. The Speckled Hummingbird probably goes on that list.
Speckled Hummingbird, Tandayapa Lodge. Ecuador
But this is still a handsome bird. The Speckled Hummingbird’s range extends from Columbia to northern Chile in western South America, and it is pretty common across all of that range. Even for a neotropical species, the Speckled Hummingbird is poorly studied. Presently, it’s placed as the single member of the genus Adelomyia, with some seven (or maybe nine) subspecies, but the systematics are, as they say, doubtful.
This species nests under the large ferns that grown under the tropical forest canopy in the mid-elevation cloud forests. This specific bird was almost certainly near his/her nest when this photo was taken, but declined to move to it over the half hour or so WC watched him.
Speckled Hummingbird, Southern Ecuador
Like most hummingbirds, nectar is the largest part of the species’ diet, with some preference for the blossoms of Lobelia, Fuchsia, Psammisia, Palicourea and Bomarea. Insects are caught by hawking or gleaned from the surface of leaves.
Because of its wide distribution, the species is not believed to be threatened (Least Concern).
For more bird photographs, please visit Frozen Feather Images.