A feeding frenzy in Costa Rica has turned into an all-out battleground in for four species that call this region home the fight is life or death my name is Philippe de andrade and I’m a National Geographic wildlife filmmaker it looks like one of the alpha males and then a juvenile male my passion for animals has taken me across the world and given me a deep appreciation for this bird for season two of untape we’ll be exploring one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world Costa Rica the Telemark amounting range is home to four of the most extraordinary species of hummingbirds in all of Costa Rica the fiery throated volcano Lesser violet here and atella monka hummingbird because they make their home at an elevation of 9,000 feet nectar rich flowers are more difficult to come by and that means these tiny birds live in a constant feeding frenzy but in all this fighting over food they’re actually benefiting the world around them these little birds have a much larger impact when people realize over 75% of the world’s flowers rely on birds insects and bats for pollination and in a single day this orange pollinator could visit up to 2,000 flowers while feeding it’s the rainy season here in Costa Rica and this young Telamon cough female is trying to load up on his many nutrients as she can when the weather drops finding nectar rich flowers and bloom won’t be so easy and she’ll have to rely on her own reserves to keep her in flight this larger male isn’t quite ready to give up this valuable resource to a rival bird [Music] her efforts have also drawn in the attention of males outside of her species turning a difficult task into a nearly impossible [Music] the fiery throated hummingbirds aren’t just names they’re vibrant colors but likely they’re feisty spirit as well [Music] they fight this way because they need to consume around their bodyweight and nectar every day in a clash of brilliant colors and armed with sword like Hills hummingbird fights are stunning adrenaline-fueled battles constantly on the brink of starvation she struggles to set even a single drop of nectar but if she is going to live another day and she cannot allow a male to dominate this precious food source and decide her fate the survival of this species depends on fierce females who will live on to attract a mate and carry on their line [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]
