Green-headed elves

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Green-headed elves
Green elf illustrated by Édouard Traviès (1809–1876)

Green elf illustrated by Édouard Traviès (1809–1876)

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Lophornis
Type : Green-headed elves
Scientific name
Lophornis verreauxii
Bourcier , 1853

The green-headed elf ( Lophornis verreauxii ) is a species of bird in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae) that is found in Venezuela , Colombia , Ecuador , Peru , Bolivia and Brazil . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The green-headed elf reaches a body length of about 7.5 to 9.1 cm. The male has a magnificent, deep green head, with a dark green, elongated, red-tipped hood. The front of the head and the ear covers shimmer in a metallic light green. The neck side feathers are green with white endpoints. A golden shimmer extends to the back of the back, which is bordered by a whitish cross band. The under tail-coverts are red-brown, the tail chestnut-brown. The underside is green with a white tint, with the throat and belly being blackish green. The female lacks the hood and the tufts under the ear area. It has a distinct white line on the cheek. The underside is dirty gray. The upper tail-coverts appear less intensely reddish. There is a hint of gold on the chest.

Behavior and nutrition

The green-headed elf gets its nectar mainly from flowers in the tree tops of z. B. Inga and coral trees , but she occasionally visits orchids of the genus Rodriguezia in the lower strata . Arthropods are believed to be collected from the plant surface.

Vocalizations

The green-headed elf is considered to be a rather quiet contemporary. She emits a short tsip or chip sound when she is eating. The hovering flight of the green-headed elf sounds deeply like bees.

Reproduction

Little is known about the breeding biology of the green-headed elf. The breeding season for the green-headed elf runs from November to March. The approximately 0.38 g eggs are approximately 13 × 8.3 mm in size. The incubation period is 14 days, the young birds after hatch for 22 days Nesthocker are.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the butterfly elf and the green-headed elf

The green elf prefers moist forests, including floodplain vegetation, white sandy bank bushes and forests and terra firme . In addition, secondary vegetation , such as fields with hedges and scrub, as well as cerrado belong to their habitat. It moves at altitudes of up to 600 meters.

migration

The green-headed elf is considered a resident bird , with possible shorter seasonal migration movements.

Subspecies

So far, two subspecies are known:

  • Lophornis verreauxii verreauxii Bourcier , 1853 is widespread in eastern Colombia through northeast Ecuador and eastern Peru to central Bolivia and northwest Brazil.
  • Lophornis verreauxii klagesi from Berlepsch & Hartert, E , 1902 occurs in southeastern Venezuela. The subspecies is dark green on the upper side, the upper tail-coverts bronze-colored olive. The white tips on the neck feathers are smaller, the control feathers bronze-green. The female is generally a little darker, the tips of the control feathers a little smaller and darker.

For a long time, both were considered to be a subspecies of the butterfly elf ( Lophornis chalybeus ( Temminck , 1821)), but differences in color indicate that it is a separate species.

Etymology and history of research

The green-headed elf was first described in 1853 by Jules Bourcier under the scientific name Lophornis verreauxii . The type specimen came from Peru. The genus Lophornis was introduced in 1829 by René Primevère Lesson among others for the butterfly elf. "Lophornis" is made up of the Greek words "lophos λόφος " for "crown, forehead" and "ornis όρνις " for "bird". The species name »verreauxii« is dedicated to Édouard Verreaux . »Klagesi« honors Samuel Milton Klages (1875–1957), who collected the type specimen together with his brother Edward A. Klages.

literature

  • Josep del Hoyo , Nigel James Collar , Guy Maxwell Kirwan in: Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal , David Andrew Christie, Eduardo de Juana: Butterfly Coquette (Lophornis verreauxii) in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  • 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 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Jules Bourcier: Note du genre Lophornis, Ch.Bp. - Lophornis Verreauxii, Bourc . In: Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée (=  2 ). tape 5 , 1853, pp. 193 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville: Errata . In: Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée (=  2 ). tape 5 , 1853, pp. 288 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch, Ernst Hartert: On the Birds of the Orinoco region . In: Novitates Zoologicae . tape 9 , no. 1 , 1902, pp. 1-135 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • René Primevère Lesson: Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches, ouvrage orné de planches desinées et gravée par les meilleurs artistes et dédié A SAR Mademoiselle. - 85 plates (Prêtre, Antoine Germaine Bévalet, Marie Clémence Lesson after Louis Pierre Vieillot, Antoine Charles Vauthier after William Swainson, Pancrace Bessa , Elisa Zoé Dumont de Sainte Croix) . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1829 ( biodiversitylibrary.org - 1829-1830).
  • Edward Clive Dickinson, Leslie K. Overstreet, Robert Jack Dowsett, Murray Duncan Bruce: Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology . Aves Press Limited, Northampton 2012, ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5 .
  • Edward Clive Dickinson: The authorship of the name Lophornis Verreauxii; that of a subspecies of Festive Coquette . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 130 , no. 4 , 2010, p. 305-306 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Web links

Commons : Green-headed Elf ( Lophornis verreauxii )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Josep del Hoyo u. a.
  2. ↑ Rolf Grantsau, p. 74.
  3. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds.
  4. ↑ a b c Jules Bourcier, p. 193, plate 6.
  5. ^ A b Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch u. a., p. 89.
  6. ^ Proposal (833) to South American Classification Committee: Treat Lophornis verreauxii as a separate species from Lophornis chalybeus
  7. ↑ René Primevère Lesson, pp. Xxxvii
  8. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 230
  9. ^ Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville, p. 288.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Lesson categorized Ornismya Nattereri a synonym for the hyacinth visorbearer ( Augastes scutatus ( Temminck , 1824)), Ornismya petasophora a synonym for the white-vented violetear ( Colibri serrirostris ( Vieillot , 1816)), Ornismya delalandii a synonym for the Grünhaubenelfe ( Stephanoxis lalandi ( Vieillot , 1818)), Ornismya cristata a synonym for the Antilles hood Hummingbird ( Orthorhyncus cristatus ( Linnaeus , 1758)), Ornismya ornata a synonym for Schmuckelfe ( Lophornis ornatus ( Boddaert , 1783)), Ornismya strumaria synonymous with frilled coquette ( Lophornis magnificus ( Vieillot , 1817)) and Ornismya vieillotii a synonym for butterfly elf in the new genus.
  2. ↑ For the history of the publication see Edward Clive Dickinson u. a. P. 117.
  3. ↑ Even if Jules and Édouard Verreaux are named as authors in the title , Jules Bourcier was clearly identified as the author in an errata.