Photo by Sarah Hadley
Species of the day – March 4, 2013 – Purple-crowned Fairy (Heliothryx barroti)
The purple-crowned fairy was a new capture for us. We caught one a few years ago, but nothing since. Today we caught two! These are very pretty hummingbirds. They are also noteworthy because they have quite a short, but very pointy bill. 
This is an ideal bill for stabbing through flowers to steal the nectar. Species that steal nectar without providing pollination services to the plant are called ‘nectar robbers’. There are species of hummingbirds and also bees that we typically think of as pollinators who commonly employ this “robbing” strategy. Consequently many of the flowers have evolved tough protective layers to try and impede these robbers.
Photo by Sarah Hadley
Such a beautiful bird. What a joy it must be to hold such a bird in your hand and view it so closely. It’s amazing how a hummingbird’s bill adapted to be able to reach the nectar in tubular blooms and then the plants themselves evolve to impede that behavior.