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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Nightjars, Swifts, Hummingbirds, and Allies (Order Caprimulgiformes)

-Hummingbirds (Family Trochilidae)

-Starthroats (Genus Heliomaster)

-Plain-capped Starthroat (Heliomaster constantii)


The Plain-capped Starthroat is a medium-sized hummingbird that is found in the tropical lowlands of Mexico and Central America. These birds prefer open areas, such as woodlands, forest edges, and scrubland. Their diet consists of small insects and nectar, which they can suck up with their long and thin bill. They can often be seen hovering over flowers while they feed. Plain-capped Starthroats have colorful and striking plumage, with a blue-green back, a grey belly, and a white throat with a distinctive black mark on the side.

Plain-capped Starthroat

Heliomaster constantii

Diet

  • Primarily nectar from flowering trees, shrubs, cacti, vines, and herbaceous plants.

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

  • Feeds by hovering at flowers and also captures tiny flying insects in mid-air.

Range

  • Found from western Mexico south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and northwestern Nicaragua.

  • In Mexico, it occurs along the Pacific slope from southern Sonora through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and into Chiapas.

  • Common in the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a year-round resident.

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, woodland edges, second-growth, gardens, flowering scrub, and semi-open habitats from sea level to about 1,800 m.

Male / Female

  • Male: Metallic bronze-green upperparts, brilliant rose-red to magenta gorget bordered by white, grey underparts, long slightly curved bill, and white outer tail feathers.

  • Female: Similar overall coloration but lacks the brilliant gorget, having a pale gray to whitish throat with faint spotting; slightly duller overall.

  • The sexes are readily distinguished by the male's striking iridescent throat patch.

Size

  • Length: 11–13 cm (4.3–5.1 in)

  • Wingspan: 14–16 cm (5.5–6.3 in)

  • Weight: 6–8 g

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