Long-billed Starthroat

How to find it

Look for it perched on an exposed twig near tubular flowers. A bare high twig in the canopy is a good place to scan. Live fences of poró (Erythrina) trees attract it and other hummingbirds to feed on nectar, so check property fences, gardens and banana plantations. Scan flowering trees in open habitat rather than waiting at a feeder.

How to recognise it

Start with the bill: long, straight and black. The whole bird is about 11 to 12 cm long.

The male has:

- a sparkling light blue crown

- a purple-magenta throat

- a white spot behind the eye

- a white stripe below the face

The female has a coppery crown, sometimes with some blue, and a narrower, redder throat patch than the male.

In both sexes a white stripe on the lower back is a helpful mark, though it is hard to see. Both starthroats have olive upperparts, gray to white underparts and white tips on the tail feathers, most visible in flight.

Behaviour and diet

This hummingbird often perches in the open, especially when catching insects in the air. It also rests, roosts and nests on exposed bare branches, with no cover from weather or predators.

In Costa Rica it is very territorial and guards large flowering trees and flowers from other hummingbirds. At banana and Heliconia flowers, though, it can be pushed aside by other species. It sometimes snatches small insects from the air.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it ranges from the lowlands up to roughly 1400 to 1500 m. It mostly stays in the forest canopy, along edges and clearings, and avoids shady forest interior.

In the humid regions it also uses tall second growth, shaded pastures, orchards, coffee farms and banana plantations. It is common on the southern Pacific slope, less common on the Caribbean slope and nearly absent from the northern Pacific slope. It can also be seen in the Caribbean and northern lowlands.

When to see it

In Central America it breeds from about October or November to February or March.

Similar birds

Costa Rica has two starthroats. The Long-billed has a colourful blue-green forecrown and a spot behind the eye, while the Plain-capped lacks the bright crown and has a streak behind the eye. The Plain-capped is mostly in the north Pacific, the Central Valley and some southern Pacific valleys. The Green-fronted Lancebill has a similar bill but is almost entirely green, with no blue forecrown or magenta throat.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Colibrí Piquilargo. A hummingbird list for Costa Rica also gives the nicknames Heliomaster Piquilargo and Pochotero del sur, while the Plain-capped Starthroat is the Colibrí Pochotero.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list, and across its range it is widespread but uncommon and listed as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Starthroats only occasionally come to feeders. They are more often seen feeding on flowers of tall trees in open habitat, so scan flowering trees rather than waiting at a feeder.