Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens spectabilis)

27 January 2009, Savegre Mountain Hotel, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica http://www.savegre.co.cr/indexeng.html This large, long-billed species ranges from Arizona to Panama, primarily in the mountains. This is the southern race, E. f. spectabilis which is confined to Costa Rica and Panama where it is geographically isolated. It is larger and paler below than the nominate race to the north and was considered a separate species by earlier authors. Under the old arrangement the northern bird went by the name Rivoli's Hummingbird. This is a male with a dark throat. In good light the throat shines green, but shows as black when seen from the side as here. Although the crown is ruffled in this photo, a few blue feathers are visible. This photo shows the strongly forked tail formula. The central tail feathers lie on top and are much shorter than the outer tail feathers below on each side. Panasonic DMC-LZ5 / Nikon FieldScope 3 / 30X WA hand-held (no adapter)