Birding in Suriname 8 - Hummingbirds nesting in our garden

Welcome to another episode of Birding in Suriname. A lot of birds are in their breeding season at the moment. This Yellow Oriole fletched recently. Unfortunately one of its legs is not fully developed. Other than that it looks very healthy. I think it will do just fine.

Yellow Oriole (Icterus nigrogularis)

Here we see its brother or sister. The Yellow oriole is neotropical bird which is common in Suriname. Its nest is a 40 cm long hanging basket that it weaves from strings of palm leaves and other plants like the heliconia. It eats mainly big insects but it also likes fruit.

If you follow my blog than you might have noticed that the yellow oriole has been discussed before. The problem is that I haven’t spotted any more species. It becomes increasingly more difficult.

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Black-necked Aracari (Pteroglossus aracari)

Another bird discussed before is the Black-necked Aracari. I only had one very poor picture but luckily I saw it again. The Aracari is a toucan. Its big bill is used to reach for fruits and seeds in the trees. They are sociable birds that live in groups.

This bird is part of a group that landed in the trees. I could only see one and was lucky enough to take a few pictures. They fly remarkably well with such a long bill.

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Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus)

The Crested Oropendola is still busy building its nest high in the trees. This time I was able to get a bit closer to the tree that they are nesting in. The oropendola is a colonial breeder and you will always see several nests in one tree. The nests are more than a meter long. They eat insects, fruit and some nectar.

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Spotted Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum maculatum)

One species I haven’t discussed before is the Spotted Tody-Flycatcher. As the name suggest this small bird eats insects and flies. Its natural habitat are the moist lowland forests. This bird is commonly found in the coastal region of Suriname.

Glittering-throated emerald (Amazilia fimbriata)

I’m very excited to share the next few pictures with you. A pair of Glittering-throated Emeralds decided to build a nest in our garden and she has laid two tiny white eggs, not much bigger than a pea.

They chose this young mango tree to build their nest. I find it amazing that they are capable of building such a sophisticated nest.

The inner is made out of very fine material like the fluffy seeds of the milkweed. The outer is camouflaged with green moss. The nest is a deep cup which is very well attached to the young tree. I don’t know why they chose this tree because in the wind it swings like crazy.

They are very fierce when it comes to defending their nest. I saw it chase away a Wing-barred Seadeater that dared to land in the tree. It also chases away butterflies from their favourite flowers like the butterfly bush.

That’s probably why the Aztecs believed that when a warrior died in battle, he turned into a hummingbird and joined the god Huitzilopochtli. I’m very honoured that they have chosen our garden to build their nest.

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I hope you enjoyed this episode of Birding in Suriname and that you'll join me next week for more cool looking birds.

Much love,

Gardenbsquared