Volcano Hummingbird

How to find it

• Go high. Look in open brush, páramo and the edge of elfin forest above about 1,850 m, on Irazú and Poás.
• Look for the "bug". What seems to be a large insect at a flower is often this bird.
• Check low shrubs. Males perch in the open on bare twigs near salvias and fuchsias, flowers the bigger hummingbirds ignore.
• Go on a clear morning, before the afternoon cloud builds. Birders report it most active then.
• Dress warm. The weather changes fast at this height.
• Or let the feeders work for you at the highland lodges in San Gerardo de Dota.

How to recognise it

Size

About 7.5 cm. A hummingbird that looks like a bumblebee

Bill

Short, straight, black

Back

Bronzy green

Belly

Mostly white

Tail

Dark outer feathers edged in rufous. The central feathers run from mostly green to mostly black, so this varies

Female

Much like the male, but the throat is white with dusky spots

Young

Like the female, with buff edges on the back feathers

The male throat changes with the mountain

• Talamancagrey-purple
• Poás and Barvared
• Irazú and Turrialbapink-purple

Three forms live on different mountains: flammula (Irazú and Turrialba), simoni (Poás and Barva) and torridus (Talamanca). They were once treated as separate species.

Behaviour and diet

• It guards a patch. In the breeding season males perch in the open and chase rivals with diving displays.
• It needs a lot of flowers. About 2,700 flower visits a day, estimated, from blooms too small for bigger hummingbirds.
• What it feeds on: fuchsia, Castilleja, salvia, Vaccinium, Rubus and Miconia, plus tiny insects for protein. It uses holes that Slaty Flowerpiercers have cut at flower bases.
• It works in the cold. It pollinates flowers in near-freezing air, when insects are inactive.
• Feeders: it visits feeders at highland lodges and homes.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

• In Costa Rica it is called chispita volcanera, with chispita and colibrí mosca (fly hummingbird) as everyday names. The National Museum of Costa Rica notes that the country's two smallest birds are both called chispitas, so ask which one. In Panama it is called estrella volcanera.

Status and conservation

• Resident, regional endemic on the AOCR list. Least Concern on the IUCN list.

Photography tips

• Use the open perches. Males sit on the tops of low shrubs, so you get a clear view.
• Shoot fast. Stopping the wings takes a very fast shutter. One Costa Rican photographer used 1/5000 second.
• Expect grey light. Highland cloud is common, so be ready for dim conditions.