Talamanca Hummingbird
Eugenes spectabilis
eBird provides this description of the Talamanca Hummingbird: Very large for a hummingbird; size alone separates from many other species. Distinctive in range. Males are green overall; head appears black until it hits the light and reveals an iridescent purple crown and turquoise throat. Females duller with fuzzy mottled appearance on grayish underparts and some greenish on sides. Note the large white spot behind the eye that trails into a messy eyeline. Females have a longer and slightly more decurved bill than males. Used to be called Magnificent Hummingbird, but recently split into Rivoli’s Hummingbird (from southwest U.S. to Nicaragua) and Talamanca Hummingbird (found in mossy cloud forest in Costa Rica and Panama). Fairly common; visits hummingbird feeders.
The Birds of the World website introduces the Talamanca Hummingbird with this descriptive information: Talamanca Hummingbird is a large, long-billed hummingbird that occurs in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama; this species is not restricted to the Cordillera de Talamanca, of Costa Rica, but the Talamancas occupy a major portion of the range of the species. A related species, Rivoli’s Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens), is found from the southwestern United States south to northern Nicaragua; these two formerly were classified as a single species, Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens). Talamanca Hummingbird is found in montane oak forests and forest edges, and in adjacent second growth. It generally is resident, but occasionally some individuals move to lower elevations; these movements perhaps represent a regular migration. Both sexes are primarily green above, with a prominent white postocular spot. The male also has a glittering violet forecrown. The sexes have strikingly different patterns on the underparts. The male has a glittering bluish green gorget and a dark green breast, whereas the female is uniformly grayish white below. Although this species is large and is fairly common, its natural history is not well known.
I saw and photographed my first Talamanca Hummingbird from the deck at Miriam’s Cafe in the Savegre Valley of Costa Rica on the early evening of February 7, 2023.
