Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Orthorhyncus cristatus

The only Caribbean hummingbird with a permanent crest. Tiny, bold, and impossible to miss.

Population: Not quantified; no numeric IUCN/BirdLife figure published — species is described as common, especially at sea level, across its range (population trend also listed as "unknown" by BirdLife)
Habitat: Subtropical/tropical moist lowland and semiarid forest, degraded former forest, shrubland, plantations, parks, and gardens, from sea level to mountain forests but commonest below 500 m elevation
Fun fact: Adult males sport a distinctive iridescent, mohawk-like crest (absent in females and young males) that varies in color by subspecies, from green to violet-blue, across the four recognized subspecies (O. c. exilis, ornatus, cristatus, emigrans).
Range: Eastern Puerto Rico through the Lesser Antilles (e.g., US/British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados, Grenada and the Grenadines) — Extent of Occurrence ~252,000 km² across 18 territories; rare non-breeding vagrant to Florida, USA
Diet: Nectar from flowering shrubs, vines, hedges, and trees (e.g., Lantana, Euphorbia, Hibiscus, Bauhinia, Tabebuia), supplemented with small arthropods gleaned from vegetation or caught in flight
Size: 0.09 m

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