The Story
This female Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird (Tilmatura dupontii) hovered near a cluster of purple flowers at Villa Verde, by the entrance to Celaque National Park near Gracias, Lempira, Honduras, her cinnamon and bronze tones showing in the light. The species lives from Mexico to Nicaragua, mostly between 750 and 2,500 meters. It takes nectar at all levels of the vegetation with a slow, bee-like flight, and it also catches insects by flying out from a perch.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/750 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, −1 EV. Mexico considers it threatened there because of its scattered range and the pressure on its habitat, though IUCN lists it as Least Concern overall.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird (Tilmatura dupontii) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List
