Arch hummingbird

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arch hummingbird
Arch hummingbird

Arch hummingbird

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Aphantochroa
Type : Arch hummingbird
Scientific name of the  genus
Aphantochroa
Gould , 1853
Scientific name of the  species
Aphantochroa cirrochloris
( Vieillot , 1818)

The sombre hummingbird ( Aphantochroa cirrochloris ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds (Trochilidae). The species is endemic to Brazil . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The arch hummingbird reaches a body length of about 12 cm, with the wings 7.2 cm, the tail 43 mm and the beak 21 mm long. It weighs only about 9 grams. The entire upper side and the wing coverts are dark bronze green to blackish bronze green in color. The upper tail covers have a copper-colored sheen. The underside is grayish brown with a slight green sheen, especially on the throat and the sides of the neck. The white-lined under tail-coverts are gray-brown. The wings are blackish purple, the tail feathers blackish, dark gold bronze with a steel blue sheen, but clearly greener in color at the roots. There is a white spot behind the eye. The beak and legs are black. There is hardly any gender dimorphism other than that the females tend to be a bit smaller.

behavior

During research in the evergreen lowland forest of Fazenda Jueirana near the Reserva Biológica de Una , the sleeping behavior of the arch hummingbird was observed for the first time. The observed hummingbird landed on isolated horizontal grapevine shoots at a height of about 13 meters. Here he first uttered a loud series of whirring sounds for a few minutes. Then he sat down on a branch that was about 30 degrees inclined. He covered his legs with the belly feathers. The head was tilted upwards so that the beak was about 60 degrees. He also holed up under a canopy of leaves, which was supposed to protect him from the rain. Generally they land on trees that are bearing fresh fruit. Here they sit down, look around and clean themselves occasionally. In between they fly attacks on other hummingbirds or birds such as the yellow-rein todityrann ( Todirostrum poliocephalum ) ( Wied-Neuwied , 1831), where they return to their old seat relatively quickly. Their vertical flight is similar to that of the New World flycatcher .

Reproduction

They build their bowl-shaped nests on horizontal branches. An egg weighs around 0.76 grams and is 16 by 10 mm in size. The breeding season is from November to March. The incubation period is 16 days. The young birds are nestled for about 28 days before they leave the nest.

food

During a research trip in 2005 near the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho , three arch hummingbirds flew to the open flowers of the African tulip tree ( Spathodea campanulata ) to steal nectar and to hunt insects that were buzzing in front of the flowers. This fact is all the more remarkable since it is known that many insects perish from the poison of the flowers during the flowering of this tree. It is known from previous studies that other nectar collectors such as the blue fork-tailed hummingbird ( Eupetomena macroura ) ( Gmelin , 1788) or the dwarf epaulet flying fox ( Micropteropus pusillus ) ( Peters , 1867) showed no symptoms of poisoning from ingesting the nectar. It is believed that the plant developed this strategy to protect itself against herbivores while still allowing its pollen to spread.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the arch hummingbird

The distribution area extends over the southeast and east of Brazil. Here the birds like to stay near forest edges, gardens, plantations and secondary vegetation. He was reportedly first sighted in 2004 in the Misiones province of Argentina. But this turns out to be a misidentification. In reality it was a gloss amazily ( Amazilia versicolor ) ( Vieillot , 1818).

Etymology and history of research

Louis Pierre Vieillot described the hummingbird under the name Trochilus cirrochloris . He gave Brazil as the place of discovery. A type specimen was in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle at the time of the first description . It was John Gould who classified him in the new genus Aphantochroa in his deliveries of 6 of his hummingbird tablets in 1853 . This name is of Greek origin and is derived from "aphantos, αφαντος " for "indistinct, hidden" and "khroa, χροα " for "skin, shell". The specific epithet »cirrochloris« is derived from the Latin »cirrhus« for »gray« and the Greek »khlōros, χλωρος « for »green«.

literature

  • Rolf Grantsau : The hummingbirds of Brazil . A key for all hummingbird shapes in Brazil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro 1988, ISBN 85-208-0101-3 .
  • Ber van Perlo : A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  • Yoshika Oniki , Karl Ludwig Schuchmann , Edwin O'Neill Willis, Tomás de Aquino Sigrist, Gerard Baudet: Roosting site of the Sombre Hummingbird Campylopterus cirrochloris (Trochilidae) in southern Bahia, Brazil . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 121 , no. 4 , 2001, p. 256-257 ( online [accessed August 30, 2014]).
  • Yoshika Oniki, Edwin O'Neill Willis: Aphantochroa cirrochloris um estado de caso eo misterio da tulipa africana . In: Atualidades Ornitológicas . tape 128 , no. 6 , 2005, ISSN  0104-2386 , p. 6-7 .
  • Edward Solomon Ayensu: Plant and Bat Interactions in West Africa . In: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden . tape 61 , 1974, p. 702-727 ( online [accessed August 30, 2014]).
  • José Roberto Trigo, Wagner Ferreira dos Santos: Insect mortality in Spathodea campanulata Beauv. (Bignoniaceae) flowers . In: Revista Brasileira de Biologia . tape 60 , no. 3 , 2000, pp. 537-538 ( online [PDF; 17 kB ; accessed on August 30, 2014]).
  • Juan C. Chebez, Rodrigo Castillo, Roberto M. Güller: Notas sobre picaflores del noreste argentino . In: Hornero . tape 19 , no. 1 , 2004, p. 1–5 ( online [PDF; 83 kB ; accessed on August 30, 2014]).
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Louis Pierre Vieillot: Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. Par une société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs . tape 23 . Deterville, Paris 1818 ( online [accessed August 30, 2014]).
  • John Gould: A monograph of the Trochilidæ, or family of humming-birds . tape 2 , delivery 6. Taylor and Francis, London 1853 ( online [accessed August 30, 2014]).
  • Frederick Herschel Waterhouse: The dates of publication of some of the zoological works of the late John Gould, FRS RH Porter, London 1885 ( online [accessed August 30, 2014]).

Web links

Commons : Arch Hummingbird  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rolf Grantsau, p. 109
  2. ↑ Yoshika Oniki et al. a. (2001), p. 256
  3. ↑ Yoshika Oniki et al. a. (2005), p. 6.
  4. ↑ a b José Roberto Trigo u. a., p. 537
  5. ↑ Edward Solomon Ayensu, S. 713th
  6. ↑ Yoshika Oniki et al. a. (2005), p. 7.
  7. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  8. ↑ Ber Van Perlo, p. 69.8
  9. ↑ Juan C. Chebez et al. a., p. 3.
  10. ^ Louis Pierre Vieillot, p. 430.
  11. ^ John Gould, plate 54 plus text, volume 2. This corresponds to delivery 6 from 1853.
  12. ↑ Frederick Herschel Waterhouse, p. 46. The year of publication, delivery with the plate in A monograph of the Trochilidæ is shown here.
  13. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 50.
  14. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 109.