Return of Bird of the Week: Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Brilliant, Ecuador
There are eight species of Brilliants; WC has photos of four of them. If anything, this species iseven more territorial and belligerent than its Fawn-breasted cousin. This male is making a threat display against a rival or another hummingbird. WC has more than two dozen photos of this hummingbird reacting in this way. So, yeah, territorial.
This is a largish hummingbird with a comparatively short, stout bill. The male is metallic green over all with an iridescent green head and a bluish-purple spot on the throat. There’s a strong white spot behind the eye, called a post-ocular spot.
The species ranges across the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama, a few places in western Columbia and throughout the westerly slopes of the Andes across Ecuador. It’s an enthusiastic feeder bird, most commonly seen at hummingbird feeders. There are three subspecies, one at each of the primary range locations. These first two photos are Heliodoxa jacula jamersoni. The last is the Panama-Costa Rican subspecies, Heliodoxa jacula henryi.
Green-crowned Brilliant, Ecuador
In all locations, it favors humid montane and sub-montane forest, including clearings, edges, mature secondary growth and nearby gardens.
Green-crowned Brilliant, Costa Rica
This species’ wide distribution and tolerance for human disturbance means it is unlikely to face immediate threats to its populations. The Costa Rican range appears to be well-protected; the other portions perhaps less so.
For more bird photographs, please visit Frozen Feather Images.