Return of Bird of the Week: Black-crested Coquette

There’s a sub-family of hummingbirds called Coquettes, in the genus Lophornis. The Black-crested Coquette is the northernmost of the ten members of that sub-family. Andit’s a pretty spectacular little bird. Only the showy male has the fancy hairdo. The species ranges from southeastern Mexico to eastern Costa Rica, Black-crested is the only species of coquette to inhabit the Atlantic slope of Middle America. There’s also a small population of this species on the Pacific slope in the northern portion of its range. Black-crested Coquette prefers semi-open forested areas, second growth and plantations, and usually forages in the canopy by trap-lining…