Dominica Botanic Gardens Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies

Source: Dominica's Birds Photo: Don Robertson Photo: Greg Lasley Photo: Katie Skaar

Description: About 10-13 cm long (4-5 in); is largest of the Hummingbird species in Dominica; plummage a beautiful, shiney velvet, black or dark-colored overall; bill well defined, long and downward sloping; head and back a dark velvet hue; throat and breast purple, the basis for this species’ common name; wings iridescent, emerald-green, one of only two of some 320 species of hummingbirds to have iridescent wings, which whisper when bird takes flight; tail and upper tail coverts metallic bluish green; legs short and dark; feeds primarily on flower nectar, going rapidly from flower to flower; two notable differences between males and females, making them readily distinguishable - males are about 25% larger than females; but female bills are about 30% longer and more downward curving than males, allowing females to feed from a broader range of plants than males, and from flowers of different lengths; in search of food, this Hummingbird typically moves very quickly from flower to flower, seemingly in a mad or foolish way, hence its local name Fou-fou, “fou” being the French for mad or fool; seen variously throughout Gardens; click here to listen to its calls (compliments of 3-Rivers Eco-Lodge). References: Arlington James, Stephen Durand and Bertrand Jno.Baptiste. Dominica’s Birds. Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division, Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Dominica, 2005 Ethan J. Temeles. All the right curves: in an island hummingbird, the shape of the female's bill enables her to feast on local flora inaccessible to the male. Natural History, American Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 2002.