Buff-tailed Coronet / Boissonneaua flavescens

The bird of the day is the Buff-tailed Coronet.

This medium-sized hummingbird lives at middle altitudes (1500-2400m) in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. It inhabits cloud forest and elfin forest, as can also be found in páramo, the unusual vegetation that occurs above the treeline in the Andes.

From a photographic standpoint the Buff-tailed Coronet has an admirable habit of holding its wings outstretched for a moment after they land.

And yes, the underside of their tail is buff.

Cerro Montezuma, Risaralda District, Colombia, March 2019.

Bird of the Day #203 – Evening Grosbeak

I failed to post this one yesterday. So sue me! 😊

The 29th of October’s bird was the Evening Grosbeak.

This is a big, bulky and highly colourful finch that inhabits our northern forests. Evening Grosbeaks are situational migrants. They do not have a programmed annual migration. Many of them stay in the boreal forest throughout the year, whereas others move in the winter, travelling just far enough south to find a good food supply.

This year their favourite foods are in short supply, so there has been an unusually large number of Evening Grosbeaks spotted in Southern Ontario. Everyone seems to be seeing them. Everyone but me, at least.

Our friends Rick and Sandra had a nice flock in their yard this week but they (the birds, that is) have now moved on. Sigh.

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, January 2018.

Recap Bird of the Day – #9 – White-necked Jacobin

Originally posted to Facebook 16 April 2020.

Back to the neotropics for today’s bird. This is a White-necked Jacobin, a large hummingbird that can be found from southern Mexico to Bolivia.

This one was making himself look big to ward off harassment from a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, a small but highly aggressive species that fearlessly bullies hummingbirds of all sizes.

El Paujil Proaves Reserve, Boyacá District, Colombia, December 2017.