{"id":291403,"date":"2026-05-12T23:04:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/?post_type=fauna&p=291403"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:04:30","slug":"wine-throated-hummingbird","status":"publish","type":"fauna","link":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/fauna\/wine-throated-hummingbird\/","title":{"rendered":"Wine-throated Hummingbird"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":291412,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":""},"collection":[],"country":[51],"fauna-group":[27488],"fauna-type":[27217],"star-rating":[265],"class_list":["post-291403","fauna","type-fauna","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-guatemala","fauna-group-hummingbirds","fauna-type-birds","star-rating-265"],"acf":{"scientific_name":"Selasphorus ellioti","animal_description":"The Wine-throated Hummingbird (*Selasphorus ellioti*) is a diminutive marvel of the avian world, distinguished as one of the smallest bird species in existence. Primarily inhabiting the high-altitude cloud forests and humid montane regions of Central America, this tiny nectar-feeder is most celebrated for the male\u2019s stunning iridescent gorget, which flashes a brilliant wine-red or magenta hue against its metallic green upperparts and pale, buffy underparts. Measuring only about seven centimeters in length, it possesses a delicate, short bill and a remarkably petite frame that allows it to navigate dense foliage with needle-like precision. Beyond its vibrant plumage, the species is unique for its specialized habitat requirements and the high-pitched, insect-like hum of its rapid wingbeats, making it a rare and captivating treasure of the Mesoamerican highlands.","animal_habitat":"This species is native to the high-altitude regions of Central America, with a geographical range extending from the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico through the highlands of Guatemala and El Salvador to central Honduras. It is primarily found at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 meters above sea level, where it occupies temperate and subtropical zones.\n\nIts preferred habitats include moist montane environments such as cloud forests and pine-oak woodlands. It is frequently encountered along forest edges, in clearings, and within scrubby areas or gardens featuring an abundance of flowering shrubs. These environments provide the necessary nectar sources and dense foliage required for its survival in mountainous terrain.","animal_behavior_and_reproduction":"Primarily solitary and highly territorial, these birds often defend specific flowering patches against both conspecifics and other nectar-seeking species. Their social structure is minimal, characterized by aggressive aerial displays and vocalizations used to maintain feeding territories. Outside of the brief interactions required for mating, individuals lead independent lives, focusing their energy on high-metabolism foraging within their highland forest habitats.\n\nDuring the breeding season, males engage in polygynous mating, seeking multiple partners and providing no parental care. To attract females, they perform specialized flight displays that showcase their iridescent plumage. The female is entirely responsible for the reproductive cycle, from constructing a delicate cup-shaped nest out of moss and spider silk to incubating the typical clutch of two white eggs. She alone feeds and protects the fledglings until they reach independence, a strategy common among hummingbirds that maximizes the male's opportunities to spread his genetic material.","diet":"The Wine-throated Hummingbird sustains its high-energy lifestyle primarily through a diet of nectar sourced from various small, tubular flowers, frequently visiting species within the families Acanthaceae, Rubiaceae, and Ericaceae. To supplement this sugar-rich intake with essential proteins and minerals, it actively hunts small insects and spiders, often capturing them mid-air through hawking or gleaning them directly from foliage. An interesting aspect of its feeding strategy is its role as a \"trap-liner,\" meaning it follows a consistent, programmed route to visit specific floral patches throughout the day. Because of its exceptionally small size, this hummingbird often exploits \"low-reward\" flowers that larger, more dominant species ignore, allowing it to carve out a niche in competitive habitats. Furthermore, to fuel its rapid metabolism, it must consume a significant portion of its body weight in nectar daily, sometimes visiting hundreds of individual blossoms to maintain its energy levels.","colors":"The Wine-throated Hummingbird displays metallic bronze-green upperparts and white underparts with cinnamon-buff flanks. Males are distinguished by a brilliant iridescent magenta or rose-pink throat gorget, whereas females exhibit a speckled buffy throat. Their green plumage offers effective camouflage against forest canopies, complemented by short tails featuring rufous and black banding.","fun_facts":"The Wine-throated Hummingbird holds the distinction of being the smallest bird in Central America, weighing barely more than a large paperclip. These tiny dynamos exhibit a peculiar habit of cocking their tails at a sharp upward angle while feeding, giving them a silhouette more akin to a large insect than a bird. Despite their miniature stature, males are exceptionally feisty and will fearlessly dive-bomb larger bird species to protect their floral territories. Their namesake iridescent throat patch is a master of disguise; it appears as a dull, dark mask until a sudden turn of the head catches the sunlight, igniting into a brilliant flash of shimmering magenta.","conservation_status_&_efforts":"The Wine-throated Hummingbird is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, though its population trend is considered to be decreasing. The primary threats to this species are habitat loss and fragmentation caused by deforestation, agricultural expansion, and intensive livestock grazing within its restricted highland range. Because it relies on specific cloud forests and pine-oak woodland ecosystems in Mexico and Northern Central America, it is also vulnerable to the long-term impacts of climate change, which may alter the availability of nectar-producing plants at high altitudes.\n\nConservation measures are largely integrated into broader regional habitat protection strategies rather than species-specific programs. The hummingbird benefits from the management of various protected areas, such as the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Mexico and several forest reserves in Guatemala and Honduras. Ongoing efforts focus on preserving these critical montane corridors, promoting sustainable land-use practices among local communities, and conducting monitoring to better understand the species' population dynamics and ecological requirements.","endemic":false,"migratory":false,"nocturnal":false,"conservation_status":"Least Concern","ebird_link":{"url":"https:\/\/ebird.org\/species\/withum1","title":"View on Ebird","target":"_blank"},"animal_related_page":{"url":"https:\/\/animalia.bio\/wine-throated-hummingbird","title":"View on Animalia","target":"_blank"},"fauna_family":"Trochilidae","fauna_known_nicknames":"Elliot's Hummingbird","fauna_average_length":"6.5\u20137.5 cm \/ 2.6\u20133.0 in","fauna_average_weight":"2\u20133 g \/ 0.07\u20130.11 oz","fauna_wingspan":"9\u201311 cm \/ 3.5\u20134.3 in","fauna_key_physical_feature":"Male's brilliant magenta or wine-red gorget with elongated lateral feathers","fauna_primary_diet":"Nectarivore (Nectar and small arthropods)","fauna_geographical_range":"Highlands of Southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras","fauna_preferred_habitat":"Humid montane evergreen forest, pine-oak forest, and forest edges","fauna_social_structure":"Solitary and Territorial","fauna_breeding_site":"Compact cup-shaped nests built on thin branches or twigs","fauna_conservation_status":"Least Concern (LC)","fauna_population_trend":"Stable","fauna_spanish_name":"Colibr\u00ed de Elliot","fauna_french_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna\/291403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fauna"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=291403"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=291403"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-group?post=291403"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-type?post=291403"},{"taxonomy":"star-rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/star-rating?post=291403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}