Juvenile male White-necked Jacobin

Sightings
This beautiful juvenile male White-necked Jacobin was perched in the late afternoon very close to the verandah of the main lodge at the Asa Wright Centre. White-necked Jacobin is one of the most common species at the Asa Wright Centre and several birds are present at the feeders at any time during the day.

Species
White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora is a widespread inhabitant of forest, usually being seen at a high perch or just above the canopy. It is less common at lower levels, except near hummingbird feeders. The approximately 12 cm long male is unmistakable with its white belly and tail, a white band on the nape and a dark blue hood. Immature males have less white in the tail and a conspicuous rufous patch in the malar region which can be seen in this photo.

Status and distribution
A species of least concern in its range of nearly 12 million square kilometres. White-necked Jacobin is a large and attractive hummingbird that ranges from Mexico, south to Peru, Bolivia and south Brazil. The sub-species on Trinidad F. m. mellivora is also found from south Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil whereas the sub-species F. m. flabellifera is endemic to Tobago.

References
Asa Wright Centre; BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 164

Photograph
1/2000th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 500