Rivoli's Hummingbird
by Rafael Garcia Nat Pic.
A flash of purple crown and emerald throat makes for a magnificent hummingbird—and that happens to be a former name for Rivoli’s Hummingbird. These large, dark hummingbirds live in mountainous pine-oak forests and shady canyons between Nicaragua and the extreme southwestern United States. Despite its size, this species normally does not push around other hummingbirds at flowers or feeders. Instead, it “traplines,” traveling along a steady route between widely spaced patches of flowers, where it uses its very long bill to sip nectar.