Long-tailed nymph

Long-tailed nymph
	Long-tailed nymph ♂
Systematics
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family :	Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre :	Thalurania hummingbirds ( Thalurania )
Type :	Long-tailed nymph
Scientific name
	Thalurania watertonii
	( Bourcier , 1847)

The long-tailed nymph ( Thalurania watertonii ) is a species of bird in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae). The species is endemic to Brazil . The stock is on the IUCN as endangered ( Endangered estimated).

features

The male long-tailed nymph reaches a body length of 13 cm, with wings 5.7 cm, the tail 6 cm and the back of the beak 2 cm. The top of the head and the neck are dark green, the front back dark purple-blue. The back is dark blue-green. The underside glows grass green, the flanks are purple-blue. The tail and the under tail coverts are steel blue. They have blackish purple wings. The beak is black. The female long-tailed nymph reaches a body length of 10.2 cm, with wings 5.9 cm, the tail 3.7 cm and the back of the beak 2 cm. They are gold-green from the top of the head to the front back, which turns into a blue-green color on the back and the middle tail feathers. The underside is dirty white. The side control springs are green with a wide subterminal steel blue band and white tips. The beak is also black.

behavior

They get their nectar from flowering vines, cacti and epiphytes . Bushes and trees, such as B. passion flower family , cactus family , bromeliad family , belt flower family , verbena family , red family and legumes . Occasionally they cling to long corollas to get nectar. They catch insects in flight. The males in particular are very territorial and defend their territory aggressively against invading conspecifics or other species.

Reproduction

Your eggs weigh 0.5 g with a volume of 14.5 × 9.3 mm. The breeding season lasts from November to February. They build a goblet-shaped nest made of roots and moss, which is held together with cobwebs. They attach this horizontally about 1.5 to 2.5 m above the ground in the branches of bushes or smaller trees and are usually covered by overhanging leaves. A clutch contains two eggs that are hatched by the female. The nestlings are blackish with two whitish stripes on the back. They fledge after about 20 days. They have their first offspring at the beginning of their second year.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area (green) of the long-tailed nymph

They are mostly found in the coastal rainforests, closed to semi-open clearings, in plantations and in parks at altitudes from sea level up to 500 meters in the lower to middle strata, always near vegetation. They are considered to be a resident bird with smaller moving around inland during the flowering period. Their distribution area extends on the coastal areas of the states of Ceará , Rio Grande do Norte , Paraíba , Pernambuco , Alagoas , Sergipe to Bahia .

Etymology and history of research

Jules Bourcier described the long-tailed nymph under the name Trochilus Watertonii . As a site he named Mibiri Creek 40 miles from the Essequibo River . Only later was the species assigned to the genus Thalurania , which John Gould introduced 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 »watertonii« is dedicated to Charles Waterton (1782–1865), who offered the type specimen to George Loddiges for sale in 1844 .

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 .
Karl-Ludwig Schuchmann , Guy M. Kirwan , Christopher J Sharpe In: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal, David Andrew Christie, Eduardo de Juana: Long-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania watertonii) in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
Jules Bourcier: Description de quinze espèces Trochilidées du cabinet de M. Loddiges . In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . tape 15 , 1847, p. 42-47 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
John Gould: Drafts for a new arrangement of the Trochilidae . In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . tape 16 , no. 180 , 1848, pp. 11-14 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
Étienne Mulsant, Édouard Verreaux: Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches ou colibris constituant la famille des trochilidés . tape 3 . Deyrolle, Paris 1877 ( online ).