Blue-bellied hummingbird
| Blue-bellied hummingbird | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Eriocnemis mirabilis | ||||||||||
| Meyer de Schauensee , 1967 |
The blue-bellied hummingbird ( Eriocnemis mirabilis ), also known as colorful woolen pants , is a rare species of hummingbird belonging to the genus of woolen pants . It is endemic in the region of Cauca in Colombia .
description
The blue-bellied hummingbird reaches a length of 8 centimeters. The male is iridescent dark green on top. The forehead is emerald green. There is a white spot behind the eyes. The tail is dark bronze-olive on the top and yellow-olive on the underside. The throat and sides of the neck are iridescent blue-green. The belly is purple and shows reddish spots. The under tail-coverts are ruby and shimmering golden. There are white, downy tufts of feathers on the legs. In the females, the top and flanks are dark green. The center of the throat and chest are white and characterized by green spots. The underside is reddish bronze with white spots. The tail is bronze-green with blue-black edges and white spots on the under-tail-covers.
distribution
The blue-bellied hummingbird is only known from the area around Cerro Charguayaco northeast of Cerro Munchique on the western slope of the southwest Andes near Cauca in Colombia. Here the hummingbird has a very limited breeding area of 3 km² at an altitude between 2220 and 2240 m.
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life of the species. According to previous studies, the blue-bellied hummingbird prefers the tree levels of moist mountain forests from undergrowth up to a height of about 5 m. Several other hummingbird species occur in its range, with which it competes for food. Its diet consists of the fruits of the lulo plant and the nectar of genera such as Thibaudia , Besleria and Disterigma . The blue-bellied hummingbird presumably occupies a very narrow ecological niche within its already very small distribution area.
The clutch consists of one or two eggs that are incubated for 14 to 15 days.
status
The blue-bellied hummingbird is very rare. The organization BirdLife International is currently assuming a population of less than 250 specimens and therefore classifies the species in the category “critically endangered”. The blue-bellied hummingbird was only known from four specimens between 1967 and 1997, which were caught and photographed in 1967 by John Dunning and Kjell von Sneidern. In 1997 the species was rediscovered in the terra typica . In the 1970s, the local economy in the department of Cauca was based on the lulo fruit harvest. However, in the 1980s, the lulo plants fell victim to a fungal infection and the area was heavily cleared. The Cerro Charguayaco and Cerro Munchique are part of the Munchique National Park. A replanting of lulo plants is supported by the nature conservation authority in order to save the blue-bellied hummingbird from extinction.
Subspecies
At the moment no subspecies of the blue-bellied hummingbird are known. He is considered monotypical .
Etymology and history of research
Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee described the blue-bellied hummingbird under the current name Eriocnemis mirabilis . He named Charguayaco in the Departamento del Cauca in Colombia as the site. »Eriocnemis« is a Greek word formation from »erion εριον « for »wool« and »knēmis κνημίς « for »cuff, leg splint «. The specific epithet »Mirabilis« is the Latin word for »admirable, wonderful«.
literature
- B. Campbell: The Great Bird Book. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-8001-7025-6 .
- Dominic Couzens : Rare Birds - Survivors, Evolution Losers and the Lost. Haupt Verlag, Bern 2011, ISBN 978-3-258-07629-4 .
- J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, J. Sargatal (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds . Lynx Edicions, 1999, ISBN 84-87334-25-3 .
- Luis Augusto Mazariegos Hurtado, Paul George William Salaman: Rediscovery of the Colorful Puffleg Eriocnemis mirabilis . In: Cotinga . tape 99 , 1999, pp. 34–38 ( neotropicalbirdclub.org [PDF; 91 kB ; accessed on July 2, 2014]).
- James A. Jobling: A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-854634-3 .
- Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee: Eriocnemis mirabilis a new species of hummingbird from Colombia . In: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . No. 402 , 1967, pp. 1–2 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
Web links
- Eriocnemis mirabilis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed July 2, 2014.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Colorful Puffleg ( Eriocnemis mirabilis ) . Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Colorful Puffleg (Eriocnemis mirabilis) in the Internet Bird Collection
- Blue-bellied hummingbird ( Eriocnemis mirabilis ) at Avibase; Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- Eriocnemis mirabilis in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Colorful Puffleg ( Eriocnemis mirabilis )