Violet-headed hummingbird
Violet-headed hummingbird | |
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Female in eastern Ecuador | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Order: | Apodiformes |
Family: | Trochilidae |
Tribe: | Trochilini |
Genus: | Klais Reichenbach, 1854 |
Species: | K. guimeti
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Binomial name | |
Klais guimeti (Bourcier, 1843)
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Range of K. guimeti |
The violet-headed hummingbird (Klais guimeti) is a species of
It is found in
Taxonomy
The violet-headed hummingbird was
Three subspecies are recognised:[5]
- K. g. merrittii (Lawrence, 1860) – east Honduras to east Panama
- K. g. guimeti (Bourcier, 1843) – east Colombia and north Venezuela to east Ecuador and extreme north Peru
- K. g. pallidiventris Stolzmann, 1926 – east Peru and west Bolivia
Description
Violet-headed hummingbirds are on average 8.1 cm (3.2 in) in length with a short, straight bill that averages 13 mm (0.51 in) in length.[7] The head and throat of the male are intense violet or blue (depending on the angle viewed) with white spots behind each eye that stands out against the dark head. The back is metallic bluish-green (or bronze-green depending on the angle) and breast is green fading to a grey belly. The tail is green with tiny white-grey tail spots. The wings are black.[7][8][9][10]
The female is duller with a blue cap, green back and grey throat, breast and belly. The wings and tail are the same as the male. The female also has the white spot behind the eye.[7][8][9][10]
Distribution and habitat
The violet-headed hummingbird ranges from Central America well into South America. This includes Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in Central America and western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, northern Brazil, western Venezuela and northern Bolivia.[7][8][9][10] The species tends to be local in distribution, common in some areas and rare in other seemingly identical areas.[7][11]
The violet-headed hummingbird occurs in the mountains and has been recorded to occur from 200 to 850 m (660 to 2,790 ft) in Costa Rica,[9] from 400 to 1,850 m (1,310 to 6,070 ft) in Colombia[7] and 150 to 1,900 m (490 to 6,230 ft) in Venezuela.[10]
Violet-headed hummingbirds are found on the edges of humid
Behaviour
Breeding
In Costa Rica, males sing in loose
The nest is a mossy cup[7] built 1 to 5 m (3.3 to 16.4 ft) above forested mountain streams. They are normally built in February,[15] but sometimes as early as January.[7] The last young fledge in May.[7][15]
Food and feeding
The violet-headed hummingbird drinks nectar from understory flowering shrubs as well as taking small insects[11] on the wing.[7] In Costa Rica, a particular fondness for Stachytarpheta flowers has been reported with as many as one individual every 5–7 m (16–23 ft) on a hedge near Murcia.[12]
Relationship with humans
The violet-headed hummingbird has been designated as a species of
References
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 29.
- ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1854). "Aufzählung der Colibris Oder Trochilideen in ihrer wahren natürlichen Verwandtschaft, nebst Schlüssel ihrer Synonymik". Journal für Ornithologie (Supplement) (in German). 1: 1–24 [13].
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hilty & Brown 1986, p. 262.
- ^ a b c d Dunning & Ridgely 1982, p. 225.
- ^ a b c d Skutch 1958, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d de Schauensee & Phelps 1978, p. 139.
- ^ a b c d Jones et al. 2002.
- ^ a b c Skutch 1958, p. 6.
- ^ a b Skutch 1958, p. 9.
- ^ Skutch 1958, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Skutch 1958, p. 11.
Sources
- Dunning, John S.; Ridgely, Robert S. (1982). South American Land Birds: A Photographic Aid to Identification. Harrowood Books. ISBN 978-0915180226.
- Hilty, Steven L.; Brown, William L. (1986). Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691083728.
- Jones, Jason; Ramoni-Perazzi, Paolo; Carruthers, Erin H.; Robertson, Raleigh (2002). "Species composition of bird communities in shade coffee plantations in the Venezuelan Andes" (PDF). Ornithologia Neotropical. 13: 397–412.
- de Schauensee, Rodolphe Meyer; Phelps, William H. (1978). A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691082059.
- Skutch, Alexander F. (1958). "Life history of the Violet-headed Hummingbird" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 70 (1): 5–19.
External links
- BirdLife species factsheet for Klais guimeti
- "Violet-headed hummingbird media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Violet-headed hummingbird photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Violet-headed hummingbird species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
- Audio recordings of Violet-headed hummingbird on Xeno-canto.