Diet

• Primarily nectar from a wide variety of flowering trees, shrubs, vines, and epiphytic plants.

• Supplements its diet with small insects and spiders, which provide essential protein, especially during the breeding season.

• Feeds by hovering at flowers or occasionally perching while probing blossoms with its long, slightly curved bill.

Range

• Found from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama.

• In Mexico, it occurs mainly in the humid highlands of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.

• Inhabits cloud forests, humid montane forests, forest edges, ravines, and shaded gardens, typically at elevations of 500–2,500 m.

• Rarely found in the Zihuatanejo region, as the Pacific coastal dry forests lack the cool, humid montane habitat this species requires.

Male / Female

• Male: Large hummingbird with brilliant violet-purple plumage, dark wings, and a deeply forked bluish-black tail.

• Female: Green upperparts with grayish-white underparts heavily spotted with green; outer tail feathers tipped with white.

• The sexes are easily distinguished by their dramatically different plumage.

Size

• Length: 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in)

• Wingspan: 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in)

• Weight: 10–12 g