Purple-throated Mountain-gem

Lampornis calolaemus

eBird describes the Purple-throated Mountain-gem like this:  Stunning medium-sized hummingbird. Male shows bright purple throat, blue crown, and white line behind eye. Female not quite as colorful but still striking: bright buffy underparts with black cheek and white line behind eye. She is very similar to female White-bellied Mountain-gem but has greener tail; only safely identified with a good view. A forest hummingbird of middle elevations that also comes out to edges and gardens, visits feeders.

The Birds of the World website offers this descriptive information about the Purple-throated Mountain-gem:  The Purple-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis calolaemus is a medium-sized species of hummingbird (Trochilidae), with a straight, dark bill. It occurs in the montane cloud forests of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Both males and females of this species are characterized by stunning iridescent green contour feathers, which cover most of their bodies, and white post-ocolar stripes. This species is sexually dimporphic in plumage. The males are primarily green, with a purple gorget. The upperparts of the female are green, but the underparts are pale rufous, and the female lacks a gorget. Purple-throated Mountain-gems are territorial nectarivores, supplementing their diets with occasional insect prey. This species breeds primarily during the rainy season, from October to April, and nests in the understory. Males make their presence known with repeated short bursts of insect-like trills.

I saw both a male and a female at the lower hummingbird station at Paraiso Lodge on the late afternoon of February 8, 2023.  The buffy underside and post ocular white stripe of a female were what first caught my attention.  This one female/male pair were the only hummingbirds of this species that I saw at Paraiso Lodge.  The photos aren’t the greatest, but I am grate to add this unique hummingbird to my life list.