The Story
I photographed this White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) at Villa Verde, by the entrance to Celaque National Park near Gracias, Lempira, Honduras. It was resting, showing its green plumage and white ear stripe. The broad white stripe behind the eye gives the species its name. Females have a dusky brown crown and lack the male’s bright chin and throat. It lives between about 1,200 and 3,500 meters, and the Honduran birds belong to the subspecies pygmaea. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/16, ISO 3200, −1 EV. Celaque protects Cerro Las Minas, at 2,849 meters the highest point in Honduras, and its rivers supply water to more than 120 communities, including Gracias.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) 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 decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List