Azure-crowned Hummingbird
Saucerottia cyanocephala
To survive the cold mountain nights, they can enter torpor, a state of deep sleep where they lower their body temperature and slow their heart rate to conserve energy.
- Scientific name
- Saucerottia cyanocephala
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Apodiformes › Trochilidae › Saucerottia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Pine-oak forests, humid evergreen forest edges, clearings, and suburban gardens.
- Diet
- Floral nectar and small insects or spiders caught in mid-air.
- Range
- Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua
- Size
- 9.5 to 11 cm in length, weighing approximately 4.5 grams
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, deforestation, and heavy pesticide use that eliminates their insect food source.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Observe from a respectful distance of 5 to 10 feet, particularly near flowering gardens or feeders. Do not attempt to handle or trap. If a bird appears trapped indoors, turn off interior lights and open a window or door facing the sunlight to guide it out.
The azure-crowned hummingbird ( Saucerottia cyanocephala ) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
Photo: Nigel Voaden, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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