Cinnamon hummingbird

Description

The cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from northwestern Mexico to Costa Rica. The cinnamon hummingbird is 9.5 to 11.5 cm (3.7 to 4.5 in) long and on average weighs about 5 to 5.5 g (0.18 to 0.19 oz). Adults of the nominate subspecies A. r. rutila have metallic bronze green upperparts and cinnamon to cinnamon rufous underparts that are paler on the chin and upper throat. The tail is deep cinnamon rufous to rufous chestnut; the feathers have dark metallic bronze tips and the outermost have dark metallic bronze outer edges. The wings are a dark brownish slate. Males' bills are red with a black tip and females' mostly black with red at the base. Juveniles are similar to adults but have rufous edges to the face, crown, and rump feathers and an all black bill. A. r. diluta is similar to the nominate, with slightly less intense green upperparts and paler and pinker underparts. A. r. corallirostris is also similar to the nominate but overall its colors are richer and deeper. A. r. graysoni is significantly larger and darker than the nominate but otherwise similar. The cinnamon hummingbird is resident throughout its range. The cinnamon hummingbird usually forages from the understory to the mid-story, but also will visit taller flowering trees. It feeds on nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants and also eats insects. It is territorial and defends feeding sites from intrusion by other hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The cinnamon hummingbird's breeding season varies throughout its range; every month is represented somewhere. Its nest is a cup made of plant material and spider web placed on a horizontal branch. Three nests in western Mexico had a small platform of wood pieces under the cup. The cup was made of kapok seed fibers with grass, bits of wood, and lichens on the outside. All three were in semi-deciduous forest. The clutch size is two eggs, but little more is known about the species' breeding phenology. The cinnamon hummingbird's song is "varied, high, thin, slightly squeaky chips, si ch chi-chit or tsi si si-si-sit, or chi chi-chi chi chi, etc." Its call has been described as "a buzzy, scratchy tzip" and "a hard to sharp chik".