The
scintillant hummingbird (
Selasphorus scintilla) is a species of
hummingbird that is
endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. It inhabits brushy forest edges, coffee plantations and sometimes gardens at elevations from 900 to 2,000 metres (3,000 to 6,600 ft), and up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) when not breeding. It is only 6.5 to 8 centimetres (2.6 to 3.1 in) long, including the bill, making it one of the smallest birds in existence, marginally larger than the
bee hummingbird. This female scintillant hummingbird was photographed feeding on an
Abutilon flower in the Mount Totumas
cloud forest in Panama.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp