Rufous-crested Coquette (Birds of Cocobolo Nature Reserve)

Rufous-crested Coquette

Lophornis delattrei

Overview ¹

These coquettes spend very little time in the forest and instead feed on low flowering plants around shrubby clearings, roadsides, or the forest edge. Their flight is rather beelike and individuals tend to favor high perches. Both sexes are remarkably similar in appearance to the Spangled Coquette (Lophornis stictolphus). The male’s striking, elongated, rufous crest is more spiky than the bushy crest of the Spangled Coquette, and females are potentially distinguished by the bronzy green underparts and more cinnamon throat (instead of mostly white) found on the Rufous-crested.