Hummingbirds of Costa Rica

Jill StaakeJill StaakeUpdated: Apr. 24, 2020

With more than 50 species found in this small country, the hummingbirds of Costa Rica put on an amazing show wherever you are.

While the highlight of our recent trip to Costa Rica may have been the spotting of the amazing Resplendent Quetzal, the wide variety of hummingbirds everywhere we went certainly was a close second. They swarmed feeders and haunted the flowers, so busy and intent on feeding (and fighting for territory) that they often buzzed close to our heads without seeming to notice.

Hummingbirds of Costa RicaJill Staake
Jill Staake Green Violet-Ears and a Magnificent Hummingbird on a feeder at Savegre Lodge in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has 54 species of hummingbirds, with four of them considered endemic to the region. While the famous Ruby-Throated Hummingbird we know so well in the U.S. does migrate there each winter, the other 53 species are found there year-round, and vary widely by different regions of the country. We saw 16 different species of the hummingbirds of Costa Rica, and managed to capture photos of many of them. Here’s a sampling of what we saw.

Hummingbirds of Costa RicaJill Staake
Jill Staake White-Necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), male
Hummingbird Costa Rica White Necked Jacobin FJill Staake
Jill Staake White Necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora), female
Hummingbirds Costa Rica Green Crowned BrilliantJill Staake
Jill Staake Green-Crowned Brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula), male
Hummingbird Costa Rica Green Violet EarJill Staake
Jill Staake Green Violet-Ear (Colibri thalassinus)
Hummingbird Costa Rica Purple Throated Mountain Gem FJill Staake
Jill Staake Purple-Throated Mountain Gem (Lampornis calolaemus), female
Hummingbird Costa Rica Rufous TailedJill Staake
Jill Staake Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl)
Hummingbird Costa Rica Scintillant FJill Staake
Jill Staake Scintillant Hummingbird (Selasphorus scintilla), female
Hummingbird Costa Rica Volcano FJill Staake
Jill Staake Volcano Hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula), female
Hummingbird Costa Rica White Bellied Mountain GemJill Staake
Jill Staake White-Bellied Mountain Gem (Oreopyra hemileucus)
Hummingbirds Costa Rica Green Hermit MJill Staake
Jill Staake Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy)
Hummingbirds Costa Rica Green ThorntailJill Staake
Jill Staake Green Thorntail (Discosura conversii)
Hummingbird-Costa-Rica-Scintillant-F-Green-Violet-Ear-Magnificent.jpgJill Staake
Jill Staake Scintillant Hummingbird (Female), Green Violet-Ear, Magnificent Hummingbird

See a full list of hummingbirds found in Costa Rica here.

Originally Published: February 18, 2015

Jill Staake
Jill Staake
Jill lives in Tampa, Florida, and writes about gardening, butterflies, outdoor projects and birding. When she's not gardening, you'll find her reading, traveling and happily digging her toes into the sand on the beach.