Hummingbirds of Central America

Hummingbirds are found only in the Western Hemisphere, with almost half the species living in the "equatorial belt" between 10 degrees north and south of the equator.

The hummingbird family is very large, with 366 species and 112 genera, mostly south of the United States. Hummingbirds comprise the family Trochilidae, among the smallest of birds, with most species measuring in the 3"-5" range.

Many species are found in multiple countries of Central America. Others are endemic to only one country, including the Honduran Emerald in Honduras and the Coppery-headed Emerald in Costa Rica.

Many hummingbirds Central America or Mexico do not migrate, while some migrate north to their breeding grounds in the southern U.S. as early as February, and to areas further north later in the spring.

Map of Central America

Map courtesy of www.FreeWorldMaps.net

 

Hummingbird Species in Central American Countries

Country	Number of Species	Read More
Mexico	58	Hummingbirds of Mexico
Guatemala	39	Hummingbirds of Guatemala
Belize	26	Hummingbirds of Belize
Honduras	42	Hummingbirds of Honduras
El Salvador	23	Hummingbirds of El Salvador
Nicaragua	34	Hummingbirds of Nicaragua
Costa Rica	54	Hummingbirds of Costa Rica
Panama	59	Hummingbirds of Panama

 

Photo Highlights of Hummingbirds Found in Central America

Violet Sabrewing	Fiery-throated	Cinnamon
Coppery-headed Emerald	Buff-bellied	Buff-tailed Coronet
Green-breasted Mango	White-necked Jacobin	Mexican Violetear
Ruby-throated	Booted-racket Tail	Beryline
Rivoli's	White-eared	Plain-capped Starthroat
Purple-crowned Fairy	Long-billed Hermit	Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Long-tailed Sylph	Purple-bibbed Whitetip Hummingbird	Violet-crowned
Stripe-throated Hermit	White-bellied Mountain-gem	White-throated Mountain-gem
Lucifer	Allen's	Anna's
Calliope	Costa's	Broad-tailed
Rufous-tailed	Broad-billed	Green-crowned Brilliant
	Honduran Emerald Dominic Sherony, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Special thanks go out to the great nature photographers Alan Schmierer and Rolf Riethof for sharing many of their beautiful public-domain photographs of hummingbirds on this website via Flickr.

 

More Hummingbird Resources

• Hummingbird Species of Central America (Wikipedia)
• Central American Hummingbirds: Gems of the Region
• Birding in the Real Honduras
• Honduran Emerald (eBird)
• Honduran Emerald (American Bird Conservancy)
• Discover the Colorful Hummingbirds of Costa Rica
• Secrets of Costa Rica's Hummingbirds
• Hummingbirds in Guatemala

• Hummingbirds of the Islands of the Caribbean Sea

• Hummingbirds of South America
• Hummingbirds of Colombia
• Hummingbirds of Ecuador
• Hummingbirds of Peru
• Hummingbirds of Venezuela
• Hummingbirds of Brazil
• Hummingbirds of Bolivia