White-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis castaneoventris)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Lampornis ("bright bird") castaneoventris ("chestnut brown belly")

White-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis castaneoventris) at San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Lampornis castaneoventris castaneoventris
Weight: 5-6g/kg  /  Length: 12cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A Talamancan Montane Forest endemic with unresolved taxonomy - some consider the Grey-tailed Mountaingem of Southern Costa Rica to be a subspecies of the White-throated while other consider then to be a species in their own right. The male and female are very visually distinct with the the male having a bright white throat while the female has an orange throat and chest, and is extremely similar to females of certain other species in Lampornis. It is found from 1500m altitude and replaced at lower ones by the closely related purple-throated mountain-gem.
 
Related Species: 
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Lampornis
SUBSPECIES: either none or  L. c. castaneoventris, L. c. cinereicauda
 
- Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish -  Colibrí Ventricastaño ("Chestnut bellied Hummingbird")

Endemic to Talamancan Montane Forest Ecozone.
- COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at San Gerardo de Dota

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto