Sapphire-throated Hummingbird

How to find it

Look in open lowland country around Coto 47 and Ciudad Neily in the far south. One guided group saw a bird working flowers beside a road, after a tip that one had been reported south of Ciudad Neily. Flowering trees and hedges are the places to focus. Inga trees and fire bush (Hamelia patens) on the edges of plantations attract many hummingbirds near San Vito, though this species is called one of the difficult ones to see. Around Coto 47 the open-country birds are often far away, so a roadside flowering tree or hedge is a better bet than scanning wide fields.

How to recognise it

This is a tiny hummingbird, about 8.5 to 9.5 cm long. These marks describe the species across its range.

The male is metallic green with a broad blue throat patch. His tail is deeply notched and tipped with black.

The female has white underparts from throat to vent, with green spots down the sides of the breast.

In both sexes the bill is short and straight, black on the upper half and pinkish on the lower half with a black tip.

The deeply forked tail helps separate it from other small green hummingbirds of similar size. A visitor to the Coto wetlands in 2017 found the bird larger than expected.

What it sounds like

Recording: keesgroenendijk, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Across its range it feeds on nectar from tubular flowers and eats small insects for protein. It perches near flowers and defends them, so a flowering bush is worth watching for a while.

It lives alone and does not migrate in flocks.

In Costa Rica this small hummingbird is probably pushed away from feeders by larger species. It is still reliable at flowering bushes and trees, where views and photos can be close.

Where it lives

The form that reaches southern Costa Rica lives in lowland forest edge, mangroves and shrubby second growth, usually below 1,000 m. In this country it is known only from the extreme south, near the Panama border, in open lowland country around Coto 47 and Ciudad Neily, including rice fields and wetlands.

Across its wider range it is most often found in mangroves, coastal scrub and lowland forest edges. It also uses second growth, plantations and gardens with plenty of flowering shrubs, from sea level to about 800 m.

Similar birds

The Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird has dark blue reaching to the vent. The Shining-green Hummingbird lacks any blue. The deeply forked tail of the Sapphire-throated also separates it from other small green hummingbirds of similar size.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the bird is called Colibrí Garganta de Zafiro. Other Spanish names include gorgizafiro or gorjizafiro, zafirino in Colombia, gorguizafiro in Panama, and tucusito de garganta morada.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list codes it R-END, and the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, with numbers thought to be stable and a good tolerance of habitat change.

Photography tips

Forest edges and scrubby habitat give better light than dense forest, and early morning light shows off the glittering throat. Fast shutter speeds are needed for such a small, quick bird. Around Coto 47 the open-country birds are often far away, and walking the dike road is likely private, so a roadside flowering tree or hedge is the better bet.