White-tipped Sicklebill

How to find it

Wait patiently at a stand of Heliconia or Centropogon flowers and watch for it to visit. A Costa Rican tour company says it finds this bird by finding the flowers it feeds on. The bird ranges widely between hanging Heliconia and similar large flowers, so it can be hard to see, and it is usually seen in dark forest understory, where it is fast.

One birder walked quietly to a Heliconia stand before dawn and had only a brief view at first, then the bird came back later to the flowers. Learning the low chip note it gives while racing between feeding sites helps you find it. Streamside understory where Heliconia grows naturally is also worth checking.

How to recognise it

Look at the bill first. It bends sharply downward in a curve close to a quarter circle, dark above and yellow below. No other Costa Rican hummingbird has a bill so strongly curved.

Then check the rest of the bird:

- Back: green.

- Throat and chest: blackish.

- Belly: striped green and white, so the underparts look heavily streaked.

- Tail: dusky with white spots, and the white-tipped tail feathers are worth checking.

- Sexes: males and females look alike.

- Young birds: they look scaly.

It is a small hummingbird, about 11.5 to 13.5 cm long, weighing roughly 8.6 to 14.5 g. When perched, it usually holds its bill and head slightly raised.

What it sounds like

Recording: Niels Krabbe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source, read 5 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It feeds mainly on nectar from Heliconia and Centropogon flowers, and it clings to the flower while feeding. It can feed fully upside down under leaves, and it sometimes uses its bill to pry open flowers that are not yet ready to give nectar. It also picks insects from spiderwebs, trunks and branches.

Between feeding sites it races through the understory giving a low chip note. It does not visit feeders. Nests hang under big Heliconia or similar leaves, often 1 to 4 m above streams or waterfalls.

Where it lives

It lives in the understory of humid forest, forest edges and nearby second growth, usually below 1,400 m, and it is often near rivers and Heliconia clumps.

In Costa Rica it is found between 300 and 700 m on the Caribbean side, and between 1,000 and 1,200 m on the Pacific side. A Costa Rican site says it lives on both slopes: on the Caribbean side from the lowlands to middle elevations, and on the Pacific side from the Carara region southward. Researchers also photographed one near San Vito, in southern Costa Rica, in February 2018.

When to see it

A Costa Rican nature site says it can be seen all year, with more activity in the breeding season from March to July, and that early morning gives the best chance. A species account puts breeding in Costa Rica from January to May, when birds are probably more active around flowers and nests.

Similar birds

The only other sicklebill is the Buff-tailed Sicklebill, which has buffy outer tail feathers and does not occur in Costa Rica. The White-tipped has a dusky tail with white spots and lacks the blue-green neck patches of the Buff-tailed. In Costa Rica the strongly curved bill and streaked underparts set it apart from every other hummingbird.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Spanish name on the Costa Rican list is Pico de Hoz, meaning sickle bill. Other Spanish names used in the region are picohoz coliverde and colibrí pico de hoz. Costa Ricans call Heliconia platanillo.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it R, a resident species, and the IUCN rates it Least Concern, though its population size and trend are unknown.

Photography tips

Check flowers early in the morning, from dawn to about 8 AM, when nectar levels are highest, and watch for movement at Heliconia flowers in the understory. It forages low, so aim your camera at the lower levels of Heliconia thickets. Watching streamside Heliconia may also give a chance to see nesting birds. Expect only a tiny fraction of a second of posing before it is gone.