Buffy Hummingbird

Overview

The buffy hummingbird, Leucippus fallax, is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae and is the sole member of its genus. It inhabits dry forest and scrubland in northern South America.

Identification

• Dull green back and upper parts with pale cinnamon-buff underparts.
• White belly and undertail coverts, with a white spot behind the eye.
• Dull green tail featuring a transverse grey bar and a rounded end.
• Slender, straight beak with a black upper mandible and a pale lower mandible with a black tip.
• Measures between 8.5 and 9 cm in length.

Habitat

Found in Colombia, French Guiana, and Venezuela, where it lives in desert shrubland, thorny shrubs in arid areas, and mangrove areas up to 500 metres in elevation. During the dry period from December to April, the bird tends to occupy areas with heavy thorn tree populations.

Diet

Feeds on the nectar of plants such as Agave, Hibiscus, and various cacti, as well as the exposed flesh and juice of cactus fruits in the genus Armatocereus. It also catches insects in flight and protects the flower patches it feeds on.

Did you know?

Males perform a unique courtship display by plummeting from the sky in an arc-like fashion while producing mating calls during the fall.