Scintillant hummingbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scintillant hummingbird |
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| Female | |
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Selasphorus
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| Species: |
scintilla
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The scintillant hummingbird (its scientific name is Selasphorus scintilla) is a tiny, sparkling bird. It is a type of hummingbird that lives only in Costa Rica and Panama. This special bird has a close relative, the volcano hummingbird, which lives in higher, cooler places.
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Where the Scintillant Hummingbird Lives
This hummingbird likes to live in places where forests meet open areas. You can often find it near coffee farms or even in gardens. It usually lives at heights between 900 and 2,000 meters (about 2,950 to 6,560 feet) above sea level. When it's not breeding, it might fly up to 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet) high!
What the Scintillant Hummingbird Looks Like
The scintillant hummingbird is one of the smallest birds in the world! It is only about 6.5 to 8 centimeters (2.5 to 3 inches) long, which includes its beak. A male bird weighs about 2 grams, and a female weighs about 2.3 grams. That's less than a penny! Its beak is short, straight, and black.
The male scintillant hummingbird has shiny bronze-green feathers on its back. Its tail has stripes of reddish-brown and black. The most amazing part is its throat, which is a bright, sparkling red! Below this red throat, it has a white band, and then its belly is a warm cinnamon color.
The female looks a bit similar but is not as brightly colored. Her throat is a pale yellow-brown with small green spots. Her sides are a richer reddish-brown. Young birds look like the female, but their back feathers have reddish-brown edges.
How Scintillant Hummingbirds Reproduce
The female scintillant hummingbird does all the work when it comes to making a nest and taking care of the eggs. She builds a tiny, cup-shaped nest using soft plant fibers. She usually places her nest about 1 to 4 meters (3 to 13 feet) high in a bush.
She lays two small, white eggs. The eggs hatch after about 15 to 19 days. Once the chicks hatch, they stay in the nest for another 20 to 26 days before they are ready to fly on their own.
What Scintillant Hummingbirds Eat
Scintillant hummingbirds mostly drink nectar from different kinds of small flowers. They especially like flowers from the Salvia plant. Sometimes, they even drink nectar from flowers that are usually pollinated by insects.
Like all hummingbirds, they also eat tiny insects. These insects are very important because they give the birds the protein they need to stay healthy and strong.
During the breeding season, male scintillant hummingbirds often sit on branches in open areas, especially where Salvia flowers grow. They bravely protect their feeding spots from other hummingbirds. They will fly in diving patterns to scare away any birds that come too close. Their call sounds like a quick, clear "tsip."
Images for kids
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Female in Panama
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Feeding on Abutilon sp.
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Piercing the flower (nectar robbing)
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See also
In Spanish: Colibrí centelleante para niños
