The Story
I photographed this Azure-crowned Hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanocephala) at Villa Verde, by the entrance to Celaque National Park near Gracias, Lempira, Honduras. I photographed it in profile against a soft green background. It lives from Mexico to Nicaragua, between about 600 and 2,400 meters, and it feeds on nectar from the understory up to the forest canopy. Its cup nest seems to vary in materials depending on what is found nearby. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/2000 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 Azure-crowned Hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanocephala) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List