Blue-vented Hummingbird
Blue-vented Hummingbird (Saucerottia hoffmanni)
Name Origin:
The genus name Saucerottia honors Antoine Constant Saucerotte, an 18th-century French naturalist. The species name hoffmanni commemorates Karl Hoffmann, a German physician and naturalist who worked extensively in Costa Rica.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 9–10 cm (3.5–3.9 in)
⚖️ Weight: 4–4.5 g (0.14–0.16 oz)
🌎 Range: Central America — Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama
🧭 Elevation: 500–1,800 m (1,640–5,900 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small arthropods
🏡 Habitat: Humid forest edges, secondary growth, plantations, and gardens in foothill and lower montane zones
🧬 Clade: Trochilini "Emeralds" (mid-elevation hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN)
Subspecies & Distribution
Monotypic species — no recognized subspecies.
Distribution: Found along the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of Central America, from southern Honduras and Nicaragua south through Costa Rica to western Panama (Chiriquí and Veraguas). Most common in the foothills and mid-elevation forests of Costa Rica, where it replaces the lowland Blue-chested Hummingbird and overlaps slightly with Snowy-bellied Hummingbird at higher elevations.
Species Overview
The Blue-vented Hummingbird is a glittering green and blue species of Central American foothills and mountain slopes. It stands out by its iridescent turquoise-blue tail and vent area, which flash vividly in sunlight. This adaptable hummingbird frequents forest edges, shaded plantations, and flowering gardens, where it actively forages among shrubs and trees.
Male Description:
The male has brilliant metallic green upperparts, bluish-green underparts, and a vivid blue tail and vent. The bill is straight and mostly black with a faint reddish base on the lower mandible. In strong light, the rump and tail gleam with deep sapphire hues.
Female Description:
The female is similar but paler below, with grayish underparts washed with green, and a bluish tail tipped with narrow grayish-white edges. She shows slightly less iridescence overall and forages lower in vegetation.
Habitat & Behavior:
This species inhabits humid forest borders, plantations, and secondary growth at middle elevations, typically between 500 and 1,800 meters. It feeds on nectar from Inga, Heliconia, and Hamelia, and also takes small insects midair. The Blue-vented Hummingbird is territorial and often dominates smaller species at flowering trees. Its call is a sharp tsit-tsit, and its flight is direct, with frequent hovering and tail flicks while feeding.
Conservation Note:
The Blue-vented Hummingbird is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and remains locally common throughout its range. It adapts well to secondary habitats and cultivated landscapes, though continued deforestation of mid-elevation forests may reduce populations in some regions. Conservation of flower-rich forest edges and agroforestry systems helps sustain healthy populations of this striking Trochilini hummingbird.
