The Rufous-Crested Coquette: An Unique Chubbier Hummingbird (10 Pics)

Even within the charismatic hummingbird family, the tiny, rare, ornately plumaged Rufous-crested Coquette is a standout birders’ favorite. The male Rufous-crested Coquette is most easily recognized by its long rufous-orange crest, as well as its green gorget (throat patch) with rufous cheek tufts and white throat feathers, and its conspicuous pale rump-band.

The female is similar to the male but has a rufous-orange forecrown without a crest and lacks the male’s gorget. Coquettes (of the genus Lophornis) are some of the very smallest members of the hummingbird family and are often described as having a “beelike” flight, with the result that they are sometimes mistaken for flying insects!