thorntail forages for nectar mostly at the tops of flowering trees but also from epiphytes and shrubs. It appears to favor legumes. It nectars while hovering with its tail cocked at nearly a right angle to its body. Its diet also includes small arthropods such as flies, wasps, and spiders that it captures by hawking from a perch and gleans from the underside of leaves while hovering. Breeding Breeding male green thorntails perch on high bare twigs and sometimes give a dive display. The species' breeding season appears to vary across its range but are not well defined. It is thought to span from November to April in Costa Rica, and displays have been noted in Colombia in June. All hummingbirds lay two white eggs that are incubated by the female alone, but no details of the species' breeding phenology are known and the nest has not been described. Vocalization The green thorntail is usually silent, but makes "soft, squeaky chipping in interactions". Status The IUCN has assessed the green thorntail as being of Least Concern though its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. It is judged to be rare and local in Panama, uncommon to common in Colombia, and uncommon in Costa Rica and Ecuador. It is "vulnerable to widespread habitat loss or degradation, but otherwise human activity probably has little short term effect on this species." References Further reading Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica green thorntail Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Hummingbird species of Central America Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena green thorntail green thorntail