Blue-chin emerald hummingbird

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Blue-chin emerald hummingbird
Blue-chin emerald hummingbird, ♂

Blue-chin emerald hummingbird, ♂

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Chlorestes
Type : Blue-chin emerald hummingbird
Scientific name of the  genus
Chlorestes
Reichenbach , 1854
Scientific name of the  species
Chlorestes notata
( Reich , 1793)

The blue-chin emerald hummingbird ( Chlorestes notata ), also sometimes called blue-chin elf or blue-chin hummingbird , is a sailing bird in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae). It occurs in the countries of Colombia , Venezuela , Guyana , Trinidad and Tobago , Brazil , Ecuador and Peru . The IUCN classifies the population as Least Concern . It is the only species in this genus.

features

The blue-chin emerald hummingbird has a body length of about 8.9 centimeters and a weight of about 3.8 grams. In the male, the upper side and the wing covers are colored dark green. The upper tail-coverts are blue-green. The shiny blue chin merges into a strongly glittering yellow-green on the underside. The under tail-coverts are green, the wings blackish-purple in color. The approx. 3 centimeter long tail is blackish steel blue. While the upper beak is black-brown in color, the lower beak is flesh-colored with a dark tip.

In the females, the wing-coverts and under-tail-coverts are gold-green and the upper-tail-coverts are blue-green. The chin, throat, and belly are white, with tight green patches running through the throat. The chest and flanks are golden green. The upper bill is black-brown, the lower bill flesh-colored. The feet are black in both sexes.

behavior

In good light, their plumage sparkles, even if this sparkle is not often shown to advantage. You can usually see them sitting alone on exposed branches in the low to medium strata , which are often in the shade. Occasionally you can see them sitting on smaller flowering trees, where they defend their territory against other hummingbirds. In the dry season it also happens that they collect nectar on larger trees such as coral trees ( Erythrina ).

distribution and habitat

They occur irregularly to frequently in moist secondary vegetation, forest edges, coffee plantations, bushland and gardens. As a resident bird , you seldom see it together with other conspecifics. Usually they occur at altitudes between 700 and 1000 meters. In Ecuador they have also been spotted at heights of around 400 meters.

Reproduction

Nest of the blue-chin emerald hummingbird illustrated by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (1768–1849)

In Trinidad they breed from February to June. Their nest, a large, deep calyx, consists of plants and lichens. They build these on horizontal branches at heights between 2 and 5 meters.

Vocalizations

Your call sounds like bright and piercing sssuuu-sssuu-sssuuu tones that are repeated 3 to 5 times in about 3 seconds.

Subspecies

Distribution area (green) of the blue-chin emerald hummingbird

There are three known subspecies:

  • Chlorestes notata notata ( Reich, GC , 1793) - The nominate form occurs in northeast Colombia and Venezuela via the Guyanas in eastern Brazil and on Trinidad and Tobago. There are few reports of an occurrence in the Pastaza province from Ecuador .
  • Chlorestes notata puruensis ( Riley , 1913) - This subspecies is distributed in northwestern Brazil, southeastern Colombia, to northeastern Peru. In terms of color, they differ from the nominate form with their steel-blue tail and white feather trousers.
  • Chlorestes notata obsoleta Zimmer, JT , 1950 - This subspecies occurs on the lower reaches of the Río Ucayali in northeastern Peru. In contrast to the other two subspecies, the underside is much more intense green with less blue tint. The blue throat spot is only faintly visible.

Etymology and history of research

Gottfried Christian Reich described the blue-chin emerald hummingbird under the name Trochilus notatus . He named Cayenne as the site . It was not until 1854 that Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach assigned the species to the new genus Chlorestes . This word is derived from the Greek "khlōros χλωρος " for "green" and "esthēs εσθης " for "clothing, dress". The specific epithet "notata" comes from the Latin "notatus" for "spotted, marked". "Puruensis" refers to the Rio Purus , the place where Joseph Beal Steere collected the type specimen on March 24, 1910. "Obsoleta" comes from the Latin "obsoletus" for "simple, worn, washed out". Occasionally one finds in the literature the year 1795 as the year of the first description and Reichenbach as the first author. In a 1996 article, Michael Walters explains the correct year and author.

literature

  • Steven Leon Hilty , John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor : Birds of Venezuela . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2002, ISBN 0-691-09250-8 .
  • Rolf Grantsau : The hummingbirds of Brazil . Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro 1988, ISBN 85-208-0101-3 .
  • Robert Sterling Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide: Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy . tape 1 . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2001, ISBN 0-8014-8720-X .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Gottfried Christian Reich: Magazin des Thierreichs . tape 1 . Wolfgang Walther, Erlangen 1793.
  • John Todd Zimmer : Studies of Peruvian birds. No. 57, The genera Colibri, Anthracothorax, Klais, Lophornis, and Chlorestes . In: American Museum novitates . No. 1463 , 1950, pp. 1–24 ( online [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on August 17, 2014]).
  • Joseph Harvey Riley: A new hummingbird of the genus Chlorostilbon from Brazil . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 26 , 1913, pp. 63 ( online [accessed August 17, 2014]).
  • Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach: Enumeration of the hummingbirds or trochilids in their true natural relationship, including the key to their systematics . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 2 (separate issue), 1854, p. 1-24 ( online [accessed August 17, 2014]).
  • Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Contributions to the natural history of Brazil . tape 4 . Published by the Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, Weimar 1832 ( online [accessed on August 17, 2014]).
  • Michael Walters: The correct citation of the Blue-Chinned Sapphire Chlorestes notatus . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 116 , no. 4 , 1996, pp. 270-271 ( online [accessed August 17, 2014]).

Web links

Commons : Blue-chin emerald hummingbird ( Chlorestes notata )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rolf Grantsau, p. 77
  2. ↑ a b c d Steven Leon Hilty u. a., p. 409
  3. ↑ a b Robert Sterling Ridgely et al. a., p. 348
  4. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  5. ↑ a b Gottfried Christian Reich, p. 129
  6. ^ A b Joseph Harvey Riley, p. 63
  7. ^ Rolf Grantsau, p. 78
  8. ↑ a b John Todd Zimmer, p. 26
  9. ^ Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach, p. 7. However, Reichenbach introduced the name for the synonym Trochilus cyanogenys ( Wied , 1832).
  10. ↑ Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, p. 70
  11. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 102
  12. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 274
  13. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 278
  14. ↑ Michael Walters pp. 270f