Birds · Apodiformes · Trochilidae

Purple-throated Mountain-gem

Lampornis calolaemus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The purple-throated mountaingem is a sturdy hummingbird of the Central American cloud forests, bronzy green with an iridescent purple or pink throat in the male. It is one of the commonest species at the feeders of the Monteverde reserves and of the Cerro de la Muerte in Costa Rica, and one of the most photographed birds in the country.

Weight

5 g – 7 g

Size

10 cm – 11 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Nectarivore

Feeds mainly on flower nectar.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestMountainNectarivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Rainforest Mountain

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Fun facts

It is one of the commonest species at the feeders of the Costa Rican reserves, and its territorial behaviour means a single male can monopolise a feeder by driving off dozens of other birds.
It pierces the base of tubular flowers to steal the nectar without pollinating them, behaviour known as nectar robbing that it shares with several short-billed hummingbirds.
Its whole range fits into a handful of mountain ranges in Costa Rica, Panama and southern Nicaragua, always in cloud forest above a thousand metres.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Understorey and clearings of montane cloud forest in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 17 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/