This is a continuation of my last post at the hummingbird feeders in Finca El Pilar outside Antigua, Guatemala. I saw a number of berylline hummingbirds at the feeders and on nearby vegetation. Beryl is a gemstone that forms hexagonal crystals. Pure beryl is colorless (goshenite), but impurities produce green (emerald), blue (aquamarine), pink (morganite), yellow (heliodor) and red (bixbite) variants. "Berylline" means "beryl-like" or having a light blue-green to emerald green color. The berylline hummingbird gets its name because it has the same color as the gem.
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| The bills of all males have a black maxilla and a pinkish mandible with a black outer half. |
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| This is the only photo of mine that has had an identifier on iNaturalist agree that it is a berylline hummingbird. All of the others had the berylline hummingbird as the first option of a list of options. |
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| White leggings are obvious when perched. |
Males have a bronze-green to coppery head, back and rump. The uppertail coverts and tail are coppery to rufous. The bases of the primaries and secondaries are chestnut and show as a patch on the closed wing. The underparts are a glittering golden green. Females are similar, but with a paler and more grayish throat and belly and their bills are entirely black. Juveniles are similar to females, but have a grayish cinnamon belly. Ssp. devillei has more bronze on the back and rump and a purplish to bronzy chestnut tail.
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| Illustration of a female, ssp. devillei, from Birds of the World. |
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| Illustration of a male, ssp. devillei, from Birds of the World. |
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| Range from Birds of the World. Ssp. devillei is found in southern Guatemala, El Salvador and central Honduras. |
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