Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird (Saucerottia castaneiventris) sound.
In March 2026, I traveled with my guide John Cahill through the Suárez River Valley in Santander, Colombia, passing beautiful colonial towns like San Gil and Barichara. But colonial towns were not our goal for that day; we were primarily looking for the endemic and endangered Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird. We stopped regularly along the way at places where the hummingbird was said to have been sighted, but failed to find it. Late in the afternoon, around 5 p.m., when we were not far from our destination Charalá, John wanted to stop at one more spot where the hummingbird had supposedly been seen. "Our last chance," he said. We stopped, got out of the car, and within a minute John located the hummingbird by sound, and I was even able to film it. It may not be the most beautiful hummingbird, but it is certainly one of the most special and rare.
Sound recording by Peter Boesman on Xeno canto (XC273816 and 273817)
Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird (Saucerottia castaneiventris) sound.
In March 2026, I traveled with my guide John Cahill through the Suárez River Valley in Santander, Colombia, passing beautiful colonial towns like San Gil and Barichara. But colonial towns were not our goal for that day; we were primarily looking for the endemic and endangered Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird. We stopped regularly along the way at places where the hummingbird was said to have been sighted, but failed to find it. Late in the afternoon, around 5 p.m., when we were not far from our destination Charalá, John wanted to stop at one more spot where the hummingbird had supposedly been seen. "Our last chance," he said. We stopped, got out of the car, and within a minute John located the hummingbird by sound, and I was even able to film it. It may not be the most beautiful hummingbird, but it is certainly one of the most special and rare.
Sound recording by Peter Boesman on Xeno canto (XC273816 and 273817)
