Volcano HummingbirdCosta Rica bird species · Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds in Costa Rica: all 52 species, and where to see them
52 species, 19 found only in this corner of the world, and most of them easy to watch at a feeder.
Costa Rica's official list has 52 hummingbirds, about one bird in every eighteen on it. Sizes run from the Snowcap, about 7 cm and a little heavier than a US penny, to the Violet Sabrewing, up to 15 cm and the largest hummingbird in Mexico and Central America.
Nineteen of them are regional endemics, which means they live only in this small corner of the world: Costa Rica and its nearest neighbours. That is the reason birders cross an ocean for a bird the size of a thumb.
And you do not have to work hard for most of them. At the lodges we use, the feeders start the list before breakfast is over. At San Gerardo de Dota the Fiery-throated Hummingbird spends the morning chasing the others off the sugar water, and at Rancho Naturalista the balcony feeders are busy from the first coffee. The Snowcap is the exception: for that one you walk down to the forest pools in the late afternoon and wait.
Where to see them
Every zone has its hummingbirds, but the mountains have the most of the ones found nowhere else. These are the places where we name them.
- Place where we name them
- Highlands
- Caribbean Foothills
- Caribbean Lowlands
- Northern Pacific Lowlands
- Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
- 1San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyHighlandsTalamanca Hummingbird, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, White-throated Mountain-gem, Volcano Hummingbird, Violet Sabrewing
- 2Los Quetzales National ParkHighlandsCoppery-headed Emerald
- 3Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookoutsHighlandsTalamanca Hummingbird, White-throated Mountain-gem
- 4Tapantí National Park, above the Orosí valleyHighlandsGreen-fronted Lancebill, White-bellied Mountain-gem, Purple-throated Mountain-gem
- 5Monteverde Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsGreen Hermit, Magenta-throated Woodstar, Coppery-headed Emerald, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
- 6Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaCaribbean FoothillsWhite-necked Jacobin, Snowcap
- 7Arenal Volcano National ParkCaribbean LowlandsWhite-necked Jacobin, Long-billed Hermit, Purple-crowned Fairy, Coppery-headed Emerald
- 8La Selva Biological Station, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsBronzy Hermit, Blue-chested Hummingbird
- 9Braulio Carrillo National ParkCaribbean LowlandsBlack-crested Coquette
- 10Tirimbina Biological Reserve, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsWhite-necked Jacobin
- 11Palo Verde National Park and the Tempisque RiverNorthern Pacific LowlandsMangrove Hummingbird
- 12Santa Rosa and Guanacaste National ParksNorthern Pacific LowlandsPlain-capped Starthroat
- 13Carara National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsStripe-throated Hermit, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Mangrove Hummingbird
- 14The Tárcoles River mangroves, by boatCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsStripe-throated Hermit, Green-breasted Mango, Mangrove Hummingbird
- 15Wilson Botanical Garden and Las CrucesCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsScaly-breasted Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
- 16Golfito Wildlife RefugeCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsVeraguan Mango
The 19 regional endemics
The ones you can only see in this part of the world.
Veraguan Mango, White-crested Coquette, Talamanca Hummingbird, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, White-bellied Mountain-gem, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, White-throated Mountain-gem, Magenta-throated Woodstar, Volcano Hummingbird, Scintillant Hummingbird, Garden Emerald, Snowcap, Coppery-headed Emerald, White-tailed Emerald, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Mangrove Hummingbird, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Charming Hummingbird.
All 52 hummingbirds on the list
The full family as Costa Rica's official list has it, in the list's own order. Tick them off on the printable checklist.
White-necked JacobinFlorisuga mellivoraSeen at Arenal Volcano National Park, Rancho Naturalista, 1 more
White-tipped SicklebillEutoxeres aquilaA small hummingbird with a sharply curved bill, found at Heliconia flowers.
Bronzy HermitGlaucis aeneusSeen at La Selva Biological Station
Band-tailed BarbthroatThrenetes ruckeriA rusty-chested hermit hummingbird of wet lowland forest, found at flowers.
Green HermitPhaethornis guySeen at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Long-billed HermitPhaethornis longirostrisSeen at Arenal Volcano National Park
Stripe-throated HermitPhaethornis striigularisSeen at Carara National Park, Tárcoles River Mangroves
Green-fronted LancebillDoryfera ludovicaeSeen at Tapantí National Park
Brown VioletearColibri delphinaeA dull brown hummingbird with a violet ear patch, local in the foothills.
Lesser VioletearColibri cyanotusGreen hummingbird with violet ear patches, common in the highlands.
Purple-crowned FairyHeliothryx barrotiSeen at Arenal Volcano National Park
Green-breasted MangoAnthracothorax prevostiiSeen at Tárcoles River Mangroves
Veraguan MangoAnthracothorax veraguensisSeen at Golfito Wildlife Refuge
Green ThorntailDiscosura conversiiTiny Caribbean foothill hummingbird; the male has a wire-like tail.
Rufous-crested CoquetteLophornis delattreiA tiny hummingbird, accidental in Costa Rica: a major rarity, not a trip target.
Black-crested CoquetteLophornis helenaeSeen at Braulio Carrillo
White-crested CoquetteLophornis adorabilisTiny regional endemic hummingbird of the southern Pacific foothills
Green-crowned BrilliantHeliodoxa jaculaA large, glittering hummingbird that perches at flowers and feeders.
Talamanca HummingbirdEugenes spectabilisSeen at Cerro de la Muerte, San Gerardo de Dota
Long-billed StarthroatHeliomaster longirostrisA long-billed hummingbird that guards flowering trees from bare, exposed twigs.
Plain-capped StarthroatHeliomaster constantiiSeen at Santa Rosa National Park
Fiery-throated HummingbirdPanterpe insignisSeen at San Gerardo de Dota
White-bellied Mountain-gemLampornis hemileucusSeen at Tapantí National Park
Purple-throated Mountain-gemLampornis calolaemusSeen at Tapantí National Park
White-throated Mountain-gemLampornis castaneoventrisSeen at Cerro de la Muerte, San Gerardo de Dota
Magenta-throated WoodstarPhilodice bryantaeSeen at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubrisThe only migratory hummingbird here, a winter visitor from Canada, October to April.
Volcano HummingbirdSelasphorus flammulaSeen at San Gerardo de Dota
Scintillant HummingbirdSelasphorus scintillaA tiny orange-throated hummingbird of highland hedges, easily taken for a bumblebee.
Canivet's EmeraldCynanthus canivetiiA tiny forked-tailed hummingbird of dry edges and gardens in the northwest
Garden EmeraldChlorostilbon assimilisA tiny glittering hummingbird of sunny hedges and gardens in the south.
Violet-headed HummingbirdKlais guimetiTiny foothill hummingbird with a white spot behind the eye
Violet SabrewingCampylopterus hemileucurusSeen at San Gerardo de Dota
Bronze-tailed PlumeleteerChalybura urochrysiaThe only red-footed hummingbird in Costa Rica, dark and feisty at forest-edge flowers.
Crowned WoodnymphThalurania colombicaA dark, violet and green hummingbird of humid Caribbean lowland forest.
SnowcapMicrochera albocoronataSeen at Rancho Naturalista
Coppery-headed EmeraldMicrochera cupreicepsSeen at Arenal Volcano National Park, Los Quetzales National Park, 1 more
White-tailed EmeraldMicrochera chionuraTiny green hummingbird of the southern Pacific mountains, with a flash of white in the tail.
Stripe-tailed HummingbirdEupherusa eximiaSeen at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Black-bellied HummingbirdEupherusa nigriventrisTiny hummingbird of Caribbean slope cloud forest, met at feeder stops
Scaly-breasted HummingbirdPhaeochroa cuvieriiSeen at Wilson Botanical Garden
Blue-vented HummingbirdSaucerottia hoffmanniSmall golden-green hummingbird with a deep blue tail, in gardens and scrub of the northwest and centre.
Blue-tailed HummingbirdSaucerottia cyanuraA tiny violet-tailed hummingbird, known in Costa Rica from very few records.
Snowy-bellied HummingbirdSaucerottia edwardGreen chest, white belly, and a home only in southwest Costa Rica.
Cinnamon HummingbirdAmazilia rutilaSeen at Carara National Park
Rufous-tailed HummingbirdAmazilia tzacatlSeen at Wilson Botanical Garden
Mangrove HummingbirdChrysuronia boucardiSeen at Carara National Park, Palo Verde National Park, 1 more
Sapphire-throated HummingbirdChrysuronia coeruleogularisA tiny blue-throated newcomer from Panama, found in Costa Rica's far south.
Blue-chested HummingbirdPolyerata amabilisSeen at La Selva Biological Station
Charming HummingbirdPolyerata decoraA dark Pacific-side hummingbird found only in Costa Rica and western Panama.
White-bellied EmeraldChlorestes candidaA small green and white hummingbird, Costa Rica's long-standing mystery bird.
Blue-throated GoldentailChlorestes eliciaeA coral-billed hummingbird of lowland edges, flowering shrubs and singing leks.
Names and status: AOCR Lista Oficial 2025-2026, June 2026 update.
Trips that find them
Most of our trips cross a hummingbird or two. These name at least two of them on the way.
- Bird Photography in Costa RicaSee the itinerary
- The Deep South: Quetzals, San Vito and the Golfo DulceSee the itinerary
- Manuel Antonio and the Quetzal ValleySee the itinerary
- Birding in Costa Rica's Eco-ZonesSee the itinerary
- Carara, the Osa and the QuetzalSee the itinerary
- Three Slopes and ArenalSee the itinerary
- The Grand Birding CircuitSee the itinerary
- The Five-Night Birding SamplerSee the itinerary
Is this bird on your list?
Tell us the birds you most want to see, your dates and how you like to travel, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary built around them. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.