Selasphorus flammula Salvin, 1865

Common Name and Length

Selasphorus flammula, commonly called the volcano hummingbird, measures 7.5 to 8 cm (3.0 to 3.1 in) in total length.

Weight

Males weigh approximately 2.5 g (0.088 oz), while females weigh about 2.8 g (0.099 oz).

Shared Physical Features

All subspecies of both sexes share a short, straight black bill, and a small white spot behind the eye.

Nominate Male Upperparts and Gorget

For the nominate subspecies, the adult male has bronze-green upperparts, outer tail feathers that are black with rufous edges, a mauve-purple gorget, and mostly white underparts.

Nominate Male Breast Markings

The sides of its breast have a buffy to pale cinnamon tint and green speckles.

Nominate Female Upperparts

The adult female of the nominate subspecies is also bronze-green on its upperparts.

Nominate Female Tail Features

Its central tail feathers are green; the rest of the tail feathers have rufous bases, a black band near the tip, and buffy to white tips.

Nominate Female Underparts

The female’s throat is whitish with dusky bronze speckles, and the rest of its underparts match the male’s underparts.

Juvenile Appearance

Juvenile volcano hummingbirds are similar in appearance to adult females, but have buffy fringes on the upperpart feathers.

Subspecies S. f. torridus Features

Subspecies S. f. torridus has whiter underparts than the nominate for both sexes, and the male of this subspecies has a purplish-gray gorget.

Subspecies S. f. simoni Features

Both sexes of S. f. simoni are buffier on the underparts than the nominate, have more black on the tail, and males of this subspecies have a rose red gorget.

Subspecies Range Overview

Three subspecies of volcano hummingbird have distinct ranges in Central America.

Nominate Subspecies Range

The nominate subspecies lives on Volcanoes Irazú and Turrialba in central Costa Rica.

S. f. torridus Range

S. f. torridus occurs in the Cordillera de Talamanca of southern Costa Rica and on Volcán Barú in extreme western Panama.

S. f. simoni Range

S. f. simoni is found on Volcanes Poás and Barva (also called Barba) in central Costa Rica.

Habitat Types

The species occupies a range of semi-open to open habitats on high mountain slopes. These habitats include páramo, second growth on landslide scars or ashfall areas, scrubby pastures, and the edges of elfin forest and taller forest.

Elevation Range

Most of the population is found between 2,000 and 3,500 m (6,600 and 11,500 ft) in elevation, though it occurs locally as low as 1,800 m (5,900 ft), and seasonally as low as 1,350 m (4,400 ft).