Lesser Violetear Among Purple Flowers
The Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus) is a highland hummingbird of Costa Rica's mountain forests. I photographed this one in San Gerardo de Dota. Coming from New Hampshire where we have just one hummingbird species, encountering over 20 in Costa Rica felt like an extraordinary gift. This one was one of the most beautiful. This original photograph is available in a variety of formats, from wall art to gifts.
A landscape-orientation close-up, the bird perched on a flowering stem with soft purple blooms framing both sides of the frame. The iridescent turquoise and green feathers shift with the light, set against a cool grey-green bokeh background. The violet ear patch catches the eye just below the crown. It is a jewel-toned composition that works on any wall.
I offer this photograph as:
Each format below is a different way to bring this image home. Select the one that fits your space, your style, or the person you are shopping for.
📍 San Gerardo de Dota, San Gerardo, Costa Rica
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird Wildlife Photography Print
While in Costa Rica I had the joy of encountering over 20 hummingbird species. Coming from New Hampshire where we have just one, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, every new species felt like an extraordinary gift.
This Lesser Violetear was one of the most beautiful. Available on archival fine art paper or sublimated aluminum metal, made to order in my New Hampshire studio. Original photography that started with a real moment in the wild.
📍 San Gerardo de Dota, San José Province, Costa Rica
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird Photography Note Card
For the hummingbird lover or birder in your life — an original photograph of a glowing green-and-violet jewel from Costa Rica's cloud forest, the kind of note card people actually keep.
My original photograph captures a Lesser Violetear hummingbird perched among soft green foliage and small purple flowers in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, glowing like a tiny jewel with iridescent green plumage and a bright violet ear patch. After seeing just one hummingbird species back home in New Hampshire, encountering over twenty in Costa Rica felt completely magical, and this one made me stop and just take it in before reaching for the camera.
Each note card measures 5 x 7 inches folded and is printed to order on heavyweight Red River Linen cardstock, with the photograph filling the entire front and the inside left blank for your own message. Archival inks hold the iridescent greens and violet tones exactly as they appeared on the bird, and every order ships with a matching envelope and protective sleeve. Hand-finished in our New Hampshire studio, this is a thoughtful greeting card to send to a birder, a Costa Rica traveler, or anyone who would rather receive a real moment of tropical bird beauty than another mass-produced card.
📍 Costa Rica
Lesser Violetear Hummingbird Desk Mat
Feathers that shift from emerald to electric violet make this Lesser Violetear look almost too vivid to be real.
Depending on the light, this Lesser Violetear, Colibri cyanotus, shifts from emerald green to electric blue, the small violet patch on its face giving the species its name. I photographed it in Costa Rica, where hummingbirds rarely sit still long enough to be seen clearly, let alone photographed.
That momentary pause is what makes this desk mat work, a burst of jewel tone color against soft green foliage and violet blooms, calm enough for daily use but vivid enough to actually notice. Printed on polyester with a non slip backing in my Henniker, New Hampshire studio, built for years on a real desk.
📍 Costa Rica
Lesser Violetear on Purple Blooms Mouse Pad
Most hummingbirds have somewhere far more important to be. This one paused just long enough to end up on your mouse pad instead.
The Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus) barely looks real in person, its feathers shifting between emerald, turquoise, and violet depending on the light. I found this one perched among purple blooms in Costa Rica, still just long enough to catch every color at once.
That same iridescent color holds up at 9.25 by 7.75 inches of smooth polyester with a quarter inch rubber base, sized for a laptop desk or a small office corner. This moment happened on an actual flowering branch, not a studio backdrop.