Alternative names: Red-billed Azurecrown; Mosquitia Hummingbird (chlorostephana)
- Saucerottia cyanocephala
Amazilia cyanocephala
Agyrtria cyanocephala
Identification
10-11 cm (3¾-4¼ in) A medium-sized Hummingbird, the only one in its range with a blue crown (male) and all-white underparts.
- Straight, medium-sized bill
- Glittering turquoise to violet-blue crown
- Golden green to bronze-green back, rump and flanks
- White centre of underparts
- Bronze-green undertail-coverts with white fringes
- Greyish green to bronze-green tail
- chlorostephana has a metallic green to turquoise green crown and is smaller than nominate
Females have more turquoise reflections on crown and neck.
Juveniles have tipped rufous feathers on upperparts, less white on underparts and a more greyish-brown belly.
Similar Species
The White-bellied Emerald is similar, but lacks the blue crown, and can show a coppery sheen on the back in sunlight.
Violet-crowned Hummingbird is also very similar but is entirely allopatric.
Distribution
Central America: found in south-eastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Common in parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- S. c. cyanocephala:
- S. c. chlorostephana:
Habitat
Moist montanes, oak-pine woodlands and gardens.
Subspecies differ in altitudinal distribution, nominate occurs from 500 to 1800 m, sometimes higher, chlorostephana below 100 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on nectar, especially of flowering epiphytes.
Forages in all strata of forest, mainly 4 to 6 m above the ground. Hovers only briefly. Groups sometimes concentrante at flowering Inga trees.
Breeding
Breeding season varies through range. The nest is cup-shaped and made of plant fibres, scales of tree fern, mosses and lichens. It's placed in a fork or on a horizontal branch 1.5 to 3 m above the ground, sometimes higher (up to 15 m). Lays two white eggs.
Movements
Some populations are migratory, others sedentary (eg. in Veracruz and San Luis Potosí).
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1999. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334252
- Avibase
- Bird Forum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Azure-crowned Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Azure-crowned_Hummingbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
