This photo of a rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) was taken in the wild near Arenal in Costa Rica. It is a medium-sized hummingbird that breeds from east-central Mexico, through Central America and Colombia, east to western Venezuela and south through western Ecuador to near the border with Peru. This is a common to abundant bird of open country, river banks, woodland, scrub, forest edge, coffee plantations and gardens. The food of this species is nectar, taken from a variety of flowers, including Heliconias and bananas and also small insects as an essential source of protein. Rufous-tailed hummingbirds can be very aggressive, and defend flowers and shrubs in their feeding territories. I can attest to that!
Violet-headed hummingbirds are small birds about 8.1 cm (3.2 in) in length with a short, straight bill that averages 13 mm (0.51 in) in length. The head and throat of the male are intense violet or blue with white spots behind each eye that stands out against the dark head. The back is metallic bluish-green and breast is green fading to a grey belly. The tail is green with tiny white-grey tail spots. The wings are black. The female is duller with a blue cap, green back and grey throat, breast and belly. The wings and tail are the same as the male. The female also has the white spot behind the eye.
The ruby-throated hummingbird ((Archilochus colubris) is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in Central America, Mexico, and Florida, and migrates to Eastern North America for the summer to breed
