Mangrove Hummingbird

How to find it

Look for stands of tea mangrove, since the bird feeds on its nectar and is hard to find away from it. Early morning is the time guides choose: on the Osa Peninsula they run trips into nearby mangroves to look for it. A boat trip on the Tárcoles River near Carara National Park is suggested as a good chance to see and photograph it. Expect to work for it, because the plumage blends with the foliage. One birding plan for a one-day hummingbird challenge puts it in the mangroves near Tárcoles and Bajamar, and calls it uncommon there and one of the day's toughest birds.

How to recognise it

This is a small hummingbird, about 10 cm long. Field marks for the male:

- Blue-green throat and chest

- White belly

- Forked tail

- Green crown and upperparts, with a bronze tint on the rump and tail

- Dark bill with a reddish lower half

The female is similar but mostly white below, with small green spots on the throat and sides. These details come from the species in general, not only from Costa Rican birds. One local tour source describes the plumage as dull gray-green, blending well with mangrove foliage, so it can be hard to pick out among the leaves.

Behaviour and diet

It feeds mainly on nectar from the flowers of the tea mangrove, called piñuela. It also takes nectar from other trees, vines and epiphytes. Unlike many hummingbirds, it is usually not territorial. It does not migrate: it is sedentary, so the same mangrove stands are the place to look through the year.

Where it lives

It lives in large stands of tea mangrove, and sometimes in nearby second growth. It is found only in mangroves and occasionally in habitats next to them. Its distribution is patchy, not continuous.

In Costa Rica that means the Pacific coast from the outer Nicoya Peninsula to Golfo Dulce, including the Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland. The National Museum says it is most plentiful near the Osa Peninsula. It has spread to the Nicoya area over time, but it always stays close to mangroves and the coast.

When to see it

One Costa Rica tour source puts peak activity from January to April and runs early morning mangrove outings in that period. Nesting has been recorded from October through February for the species in general.

Similar birds

The Coppery-headed Emerald, the other Costa Rican endemic hummingbird, has a similar call, but the Mangrove Hummingbird's is faster. Habitat helps too, since this species stays with mangroves.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Other Spanish names in use include amazilia de manglar, amazilia manglera, colibrí manglero and diamante de los mangles. The tea mangrove it depends on is known as piñuela.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident endemic (R-END), and the IUCN lists it as Endangered, as it has since 2000.

Photography tips

The Tárcoles River boat trip near Carara National Park is suggested as a good chance to see and photograph it. Because its dull gray-green plumage blends with mangrove foliage, early morning outings near flowering tea mangrove are the sensible plan.