Magnificent Hummingbird 4985
The aptly named Magnificent Hummingbird ( Eugenes fulgens) can be found in the mountains that ring the Central Valley of Costa Rica. In fact the subspecies found there is sometimes called the Costa Rica Hummingbird. Males have very dark green underparts. Their gorget is iridescent blue and the crown flashes iridescent purple as he moves his head. It is primarily a bird of the lower mountains with a range of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. Its diet consists of the nectar of flowering plans, supplemented by small flies, beetles and spiders. It is fiercely territorial, often perching on the same branch and defending a patch of favorite flowers. The female builds a nest and incubates her eggs. She lays two white eggs in a cup shaped nest about 15 feet up near the tip of a branch. Incubation takes two to three weeks, and fledging another three weeks.