The charming hummingbird and also known as the beryl-crowned hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae, found in Costa Rica and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest. Staying within the exterior of forests, it searches for scattered flowers and various arthropods for food.
Region
Central America
Typical Environment
Occurs from the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of Costa Rica into western Panama (including Chiriquí and adjacent provinces). It favors humid lowland and foothill forest edges, clearings, and second-growth thickets, and readily uses shade coffee, plantations, and gardens. Most foraging is along the forest exterior and semi-open habitats where flowering shrubs are abundant. It avoids deep interior forest but will use trails and gaps to reach nectar sources.
Altitude Range
0–1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the beryl-crowned hummingbird, it is found in Costa Rica and Panama and was formerly placed in the genus Amazilia. It frequents forest edges, second growth, and gardens, often visiting flowering shrubs and feeders. By moving between scattered blossoms, it is an important pollinator of many tubular, tropical plants.
Temperament
active and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Typically solitary while feeding, with males defending rich flower patches against rivals and other nectarivores. Nests are small cup-shaped structures placed on horizontal branches or forks in low vegetation. Pairs are seasonal, and females alone handle incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are a series of thin, high-pitched chips and tsee notes given during foraging and territorial chases. At perches, it may deliver a soft, rapid chatter that carries short distances along forest edges.
Plumage
Iridescent green upperparts with a beryl-green crown; underparts largely clean white with some green flecking on the throat and sides. The tail shows warm rufous tones with bronzy-green highlights on the central feathers. Bill is slender with a slightly decurved tip and a darker upper mandible with a paler base to the lower mandible.
Diet
Takes nectar from a variety of tubular and brushy flowers, including Heliconia, Inga, Hamelia, and similar shrubs and trees. Supplements nectar with small arthropods—tiny flies, gnats, and spiders—captured by hawking or gleaning. It often follows flowering phenology, shifting among patches as blooms peak.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along forest edges, gaps, second-growth scrub, and in cultivated areas such as shade coffee and gardens where nectar plants are concentrated. Commonly forages at mid-level shrubs and low flowering trees.
