Coppery-headed Emerald

Microchera cupreiceps

eBird provides this description for the Coppery-headed Emerald:  Small hummingbird with obviously decurved bill. Male mostly glittering green with coppery crown and bright white outer tail feathers; female similar but with white underparts. Bill shape and white outer tail feathers are enough for identification. Found in forests and edges, usually singly but males sometimes gather to display.

The Birds of the World website introduces this hummingbird with the following descriptive information:  Endemic to Costa Rica, this small hummingbird is found in the highlands of the Caribbean slope or at higher elevations along the Pacific slope. Coppery-headed Emeralds prefer cool, wet, highland forests and their edges, but also occupy pastures with trees, second growth, and shaded coffee plantations. Within the forest interior, males spend the majority of their time in the canopy and females remain in the understory. However, around edges and gaps in the forest, both sexes forage at all heights on small flowers. During the breeding season, a handful of small males sing together and chase after each other at lek sites. Following the breeding season, most males and females descend to elevations of 300-600 m.  Coppery-headed Emeralds have a decurved bill and white outer tail feathers with black near the tip. The crown, upper tail, and central tail feathers of the male are copper. Interestingly, males found in the Cordillera de Guanacaste boast a purple spot in the center of the chest, while birds found elsewhere in the country do not.

I met, and photographed, my first Coppery-headed Emerald on the morning of Monday, February 12, 2023 in Costa Rica. Our birding group with Tropical Birding Tours was at the meadow called the “Rest Area” at Curi-Cancha Reserve in Monteverde when sharp-eyed Kelly spotted this bird in a bush at the edge of the cleared, pasture-like area.  The bird offered some good looks, while remaining safely inside the bush.  I was delighted to add this little bird to my life list.  It was the final new bird that I met on my Costa Rica Trip!