Breeding Location:
Forest, Marshes
Breeding Type:
Solitary nester
Breeding Population:
Casual to rare
Egg Color:
White
Number of Eggs:
2
Incubation Days:
16.19
Egg Incubator:
Female
Nest Material:
Lichen, bark, spider web, pale plant.
Migration:
Nonmigratory
Recommended Products:
General
Plain-capped Starthroat: Medium-sized hummingbird with iridescent bronze-green upperparts and head, red throat, white face interrupted by black eyestripe, and pale gray underparts. Slightly notched tail is bronze-green with white-tipped black terminal band. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark gray-brown throat.
Range and Habitat
Plain-capped Starthroat: Casual to rare visitor to the U.S. in southeast Arizona; common in Mexico. Preferred habitats include tropical deciduous forests, cottonwood-willow streamside forests, and oak woodlands.
Breeding and Nesting
Plain-capped Starthroat: Two white eggs are laid in a nest made of plant down, lichens, and bits of bark, and built on a branch tip at the forest edge or in a savanna. Incubation ranges from 16 to 19 days and is carried out by the female.
Foraging and Feeding
Plain-capped Starthroat: Eats insects and nectar; forages by catching insects in mid-air and hover-gleaning insects high in the canopy.
Vocalization
Plain-capped Starthroat: Song is a series of sharp "chips." Call is a sharp, loud "peeek."
Similar Species
Plain-capped Starthroat: Blue-throated Hummingbird has blue-gray underparts, dark blue tail with bold white tip, blue throat (gray in female). Magnificent Hummingbird has black breast and belly and purple crown; female has green tail with pale gray tips on outer feathers.
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