Goldtail sapphire hummingbird
| Goldtail sapphire hummingbird | ||||||||||
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Golden-tailed sapphire hummingbird in the Rincón de la Vieja National Park |
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| Hylocharis eliciae | ||||||||||
| ( Bourcier & Mulsant , 1846) |
The Goldschwanz Sapphire Hummingbird ( Hylocharis eliciae ) or sometimes Goldschwanz Sapphire is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds (Trochilidae). The species occurs from Mexico and Belize to Colombia. The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .
features
The gold-tailed sapphire hummingbird reaches a body length of about 8 to 9 centimeters. The straight beak of the males is red with a black tip. The throat is blue-violet to purple with the chin speckled brown-yellow. The underside looks dirty brown-yellow and green mottled on the chest flanks. The top of the head, the nape of the neck and the upper side are green, which merges into a shiny gold at the upper tail covers. The slightly split tail glitters green-gold. The upper beak of the females can be blackish, the lower bill is red with a dark tip. The purple throat is mixed with grayish brownish yellow elements. The underside is paler than that of the males. The entire top is similar to that of the males.
distribution and habitat
They live in moist to semi-moist forests, secondary forests, gallery forests, and plantations. They prefer shady but relatively open forests and forest edges. Usually they move in the middle and upper strata . They often sing from the branches of the middle strata sitting on relatively bare branches.
Vocalizations
The lisping sounding call turns into a chirping chatter, which sounds like tssir-chi, ti-ti-tit or tssir, chi-chi, chi-chi, chi-chi-ch-it-it . Occasionally, there is a high, pipsy chirping, especially during fights.
Subspecies
There are two known subspecies:
- Hylocharis eliciae eliciae ( Bourcier & Mulsant , 1846) - The nominate form occurs from southeast Mexico to southern Costa Rica .
- Hylocharis eliciae earina Wetmore , 1967 - The subspecies is distributed from western Panama to northwestern Colombia . The upper side is significantly darker than the nominate shape and appears dark, metallic green. The copper brown on the upper tail-coverts and the lower part of the rump are also a little darker. The coloring is less pronounced in the upper part of the rump. The metallic bronze-green tail looks more matt.
Etymology and history of research
Jules Bourcier and Étienne Mulsant originally described the hummingbird under the name Trochilus Eliciae . In 1831 Friedrich Boie introduced the genus Hylocharis a . a. for the red-throated sapphire hummingbird ( Hylocharis sapphirina ( Gmelin, JF , 1788)) white-chin sapphire hummingbird ( Hylocharis cyanus ( Vieillot , 1818)). It was only later that the gold-tailed sapphire hummingbird was added to the genus. The word "Hylocharis" is made up of the Greek words "hyle ὑλη " for "forest landscape" and "kharis χαρις " for "grace, beauty". The specific epithet »eliciae« was given in honor of Élicia Alain. "Earina" is derived from the Latin adjective "Earinus" and means "green".
literature
- Steve NG Howell, Sophie Webb: A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-854012-0 .
- James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
- Jules Bourcier, Étienne Mulsant: Description of vingt espèces nouvelles d'oiseaux-mouches . In: Annales des sciences physiques et naturelles, d'agriculture et d'industrie . tape 9 , 1846, pp. 312-332 ( online [accessed February 28, 2016]).
- Alexander Wetmore: Further systematic notes on the avifauna of Panama . In: Proceedings of The Biological Society of Washington . tape 80 , 1967, p. 229–242 ( online [accessed February 28, 2016]).
- Friedrich Boie: Comments on species and some ornithological families and clans . In: Isis von Oken . tape 24 , 1831, pp. 538-548 ( online [accessed February 28, 2016]).
Web links
- Hylocharis eliciae inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Blue-throated Goldentail ( Hylocharis eliciae ) . Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Blue-throated Goldentail (Hylocharis eliciae) in the Internet Bird Collection
- Golden-tailed sapphire hummingbird ( Hylocharis eliciae ) at Avibase; accessed on February 28, 2016.
- Hylocharis eliciae in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
- xeno-canto: sound recordings - golden-tailed sapphire hummingbird ( Hylocharis eliciae )