Blue Crowned Nymph

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Blue Crowned Nymph
Blue Crowned Nymph, male

Blue Crowned Nymph, male

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Tribe : Emeralds (Trochilini)
Genre : Thalurania hummingbirds ( Thalurania )
Type : Blue Crowned Nymph
Scientific name
Thalurania glaucopis
( Gmelin, JF , 1788)

The Blue Crown nymph ( Thalurania glaucopis ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds (Trochilidae), in Brazil , Paraguay , Uruguay and Argentina occurs. The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern . The species is considered to be monotypical .

features

Blue Crowned Nymph, female

The blue-crowned nymph reaches a body length of about 8 to 11 cm, with a weight of about 4.0 to 6.1 g for males and about 4.0 to 5.0 g for females. The male has a medium-long, blackish beak, with the tip of the lower mandible being dark brown. The top of the head glistens violet blue. The top is golden green. The underside shines green. The under tail-coverts are greenish to bluish, on the side greyish-brown. The forked tail is steel blue. The female lacks the distinctive coloring of the skull. The underside including the under tail covers is dirty white to light yellow brown. The inner tail feathers of the slightly forked tail are metallic green, the outer tail feathers steel blue with white tips. Not yet fully grown males have a turquoise-blue skull with isolated violet-blue feathers. The throat feathers are bordered at the lower end by whitish stripes. They have grayish-brown areas on the chest, stomach and under tail coverts.

Behavior and nutrition

The blue-crowned nymph gets its nectar from a wide range of native and introduced plants that extend from the undergrowth to the treetops. In forest areas include epiphytes such as the bromeliads plants belonging to the genus vriesea or the type aechmea maculata , orchids , marantaceae , to marcgraviaceae belonging kind Schwartzia brasiliensis , musaceae , passifloraceae , leguminous plants of the genus Dahlstedtia and the type Erythrina falcata , Zingiberaceae , Rubiaceae , bombacoideae , Larkspur trees , strelitzia and heliconias are their sources of nectar. In gardens it flies to mallow family of the genus Hibiskus and Abutilon , milkweed family of the genus Poinsettia , thick-leaf family of the genus Kalanchoe and legumes of the genus Erythrina . In addition, various tree species of the genus of citrus plants , anacardium , dombeya and eucalyptus belong to their nectar sources. Small insects - including two-winged birds and butterflies - are also part of their diet. She collects these from the plants or chases them. In a controlled trial at artificial feeding stations, it was found that the blue-crowned nymph prefers nectar with mineral additives to those with vitamin additives.

Vocalizations

The singing consists of a monotonous series of even, metallic chill sounds that sound like chip..chip..chip .. and are emitted at a frequency of approx. 5 to 10 tones per second. Occasionally the frequency of the sounds accelerates to a rattle. The call includes short dry chills, which the birds often utter in rapid succession or from a dry chatter and chatter in flight.

Reproduction

The breeding season lasts from September to February. The spherical nest is made of soft plant wool and fibers such. B. of grasses , cattails , woolen tree plants and bromeliads plants built. The blue-crowned nymphs use fern scales and lichen to clad the outside. These partly cover the entire outer layer of the nest. They place the nest on a horizontal branch or branches in trees, for example of the genus Chusquea, at heights of 1.5 to 3.0 meters above the ground. The two white eggs weighing around 0.5 g are approximately 12.2 to 15.0 × 7.8 to 10.0 mm in size. The incubation period is 15 days and the eggs are incubated by the female. The nestlings fledge after 20 to 25 days.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area (green) of the blue-crowned nymph

The blue-crowned nymph prefers untouched forests, forest edges and scrub. Even so, you can see them in suburban areas with parks and gardens, and occasionally even in city centers. It lives at altitudes from sea level up to 850 meters.

migration

The blue-crowned nymph is considered a short-distance hiker. Although Uruguay is mentioned as a range, there are no confirmed breeding activities in this country. The distribution area to the south is not exactly known. It is possible that the few observations are wanderers .

Etymology and history of research

The blue-crowned nymph was first described in 1788 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the scientific name Trochilus glaucopis . The type specimen comes from Brazil. John Gould introduced the genus Thalurania in 1848 for a subspecies of the swallow nymph ( Thalurania furcata viridipectus ). »Thalurania« is derived from the Greek words »thalos, τηαλοσ « for »child, descendant« and »ouranos, οὐρανός « for »heaven«. The specific epithet »glaucopis« is a Greek word structure from »glaukos γλαυκός « for »blue-gray, glauk , light green« and »opsis οψις « for »appearance, appearance«.

literature

Web links

Commons : Blue Crowned Nymph ( Thalurania glaucopis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  2. ↑ a b c d e f André-Alexander Weller u. a. (see literature)
  3. ↑ Johann Friedrich Gmelin, p. 497 (see literature)
  4. ↑ John Gould (1848), p. 13. (see literature)
  5. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 383 (see literature)
  6. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 174 (see literature)

Remarks

  1. ↑ He also assigned the swallow nymph ( Thalurania furcata ( Gmelin, JF , 1788)), the swallow nymph ( Thalurania furcata nigrofasciata ( Gould , 1846)) and the long-tailed nymph ( Thalurania watertonii ( Bourcier , 1847)) to the new genus.