Rivoli's Hummingbird

Overview

Rivoli's hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens), also known as the magnificent hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird in the tribe Lampornithini. It is one of the two largest hummingbird species found in the United States.

Identification

• Length of 11 to 14 cm (4.3 to 5.5 in) with a wingspan of 18 cm (7.1 in), rivaled in size only by the blue-throated hummingbird.
• Long, straight to slightly decurved black bill.
• Adult males feature green-bronze backs, a violet crown, a bright blue-green throat, and a white spot behind the eye, appearing very dark unless sunlight catches the iridescent plumage.
• Females are bronze-green on the back with dull grey underparts and a white stripe behind the eye.

Habitat

Found in the interior, edges, and clearings of pine-oak forest, cloudforest, secondary forest, and grasslands from approximately 1,500 m up to the timberline. Its range extends from the southwestern United States through Mexico and Central America to Honduras and Nicaragua.

Diet

Feeds on nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants and captures small insects, which constitute a larger part of its diet compared to other North American hummingbirds. Foraging involves catching insects in mid-air or by gleaning from vegetation while hovering.

Did you know?

The species has an open cup nest built of soft feathers and moss bound with spider silk and covered with lichen.