Two vibrant hummingbirds with iridescent green and blue feathers hover mid-air while gracefully drinking nectar from a pink and white flower. Their wings create a mesmerizing blur against the lush green background, showcasing the beauty of these enchanting birds.
A vibrant scarlet macaw with red, yellow, and blue plumage perches on a tree branch, holding a small object in its beak. A group of hummingbirds flutters around as bright sunlight illuminates the scene against a clear blue sky.
A small monkey sits on a vibrant orange and yellow flower, surrounded by lush green foliage. Nearby, hummingbirds dart gracefully through the air. The monkey holds the flower with one hand and brings a petal to its mouth, showcasing its curious nature amid this lively scene.

The Hummingbird Effect

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·Completed

Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity thrives from hummingbirds to toucans, linking ecosystems and embodying the nation’s motto: Pura Vida — pure life.

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Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Science
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

By some measures, it’s a tiny country, just .03% of the Earth’s landmass. But when it comes to wildlife, Costa Rica is an ecological giant, bursting with a density of species and diverse habitats unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

Cradled by the Caribbean on the East and rugged Pacific shores on the west, this sliver of tropical paradise stretches from dry forests to verdant wetlands, coastal mangroves to misty cloud forests shrouding rugged volcanoes — a multitude of spectacular worlds all packed into a country the size of Denmark.

Each of these habitats shelters a staggering diversity of life that fills their trees, skies and waters — rainbow-beaked toucans, capuchin, spider and howler monkeys, majestic parrots, long-snouted tapirs and slow-moving sloths.

Over a quarter of the country is protected reserve, making Costa Rica’s wild areas a virtual symphony of life, and at its heart are the tiny conductors that keep the land in bloom and the orchestra on cue: Hummingbirds.

Over 50 species of hummingbirds make their home across every environment in Costa Rica — some luxuriating in the abundant blooms of the tropical lowlands and central valleys, while on the highest mountain peaks, the volcano hummingbird’s delicate size belies its hardy nature; here above the tree line, these tiny survivors brave the chilly, high-altitude winds to nest and feed their young in one of the country’s harshest environments.

Nearby, the violet sabrewing – one of the largest hummingbirds in the world – buzzes through the cloud forest, nipping at banana flowers, while the rare sicklebill hummingbird sips nectar from an ancient flower evolved to perfectly accommodate the bird’s signature beak.

While these beloved pollinators go to work, the fruits of their labor bring neighboring wildlife to the feast. Scarlet macaws, monkeys and toucans pluck fresh fruit from the foliage, dropping juicy scraps and seed pods to the forest floor. At dawn, elusive Baird’s tapirs use their prehensile noses to sniff out a meal, devouring the fallen fruit, carrying the seeds of future forests in their bellies as they forage. In eye-popping, cinematic style, ‘The Hummingbird Effect’ captures the intricately linked creatures of the country’s lush environments, showcasing the dazzling hummingbirds at their heart and giving new meaning to the country’s motto, Pura Vida — Pure Life.

Team

Written and directed by Dough Shultz and Ann Johnson Prum
Executive producers Ivo Filatsch, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A production of Coneflower Productions and The WNET Group in co-production with Terra Mater Studios in association with PBS and CPB

Awards & Recognitions

Sondrio, Italy Sondrio Festival Winner (First Prize "Town of Sondrio Award") 2024
Ludwigsburg, Germany NaturVision Filmfestival Special Mention (Category: NaturVision Camera Award) 2024
New York, USA News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Nomination (Category: Outstanding Nature Documentary) 2024
Sondrio, Italy Sondrio Festival Official Selection 2024
Rotterdam, Netherlands WFFR - Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection 2024
Latin America Festival de Cine Santiago Wild Finalist (Category: Long Forms - Latin America through the eyes of the world) 2024
Abbeville, France Festival de l'Oiseau et de la Nature Official Selection 2024
Namur, Belgium FINN - Festival International Nature Namur Image Prize 2023
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Gold Dolphin (Category: Nature & Wildlife) 2023
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist (Category: Animal Behavior - Long Form) 2023
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Official Selection 2023
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