Purple-throated Star Hummingbird

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purple-throated Star Hummingbird
Purple-throated Star Hummingbird ♂

Purple-throated Star Hummingbird ♂

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Calliphlox
Type : Purple-throated Star Hummingbird
Scientific name
Calliphlox mitchellii
( Bourcier , 1847)

The purple-throated star hummingbird ( Calliphlox mitchellii ) is a species of bird in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae) found in Panama , Colombia and Ecuador . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern (not endangered).

features

Purple-throated Star Hummingbird ♀

The purple-throated star hummingbird reaches a body length of 7.6 cm, with a straight beak about 1.5 cm. The top of the males is dark bronze green. The throat, which looks black when observed in the wild, glitters pink-violet and is bordered by a wide, white chest band that extends to the sides of the neck. The rest of the bottom is dark bronze, with the sides looking more like a chestnut color. The large, white spots under the wings can only be seen in flight. The relatively long, forked tail is bronze-violet in color. The females look similar, but the throat is yellow-brown-whitish with dark spots. The chest band looks blurry and the underside is more reddish. The reddish tail is only slightly forked with a broad, black subterminal band.

behavior

Purple-throated star hummingbirds can be observed in practically all strata , but they prefer to settle in the upper strata. When foraging they are often out and about on flowering shrubs near the edges of the forest. Alone or in smaller groups you can also see them on flowering trees. Their undulating and bee-like flight can also be heard acoustically. During courtship, their movements are similar to that of a pendulum and they give off whistling whimpers and chattering.

Reproduction

Not much is known about their breeding behavior. In Cali , in the western Andes of Colombia, they were observed in December in breeding condition.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area (green) of the purple-throated star hummingbird

They are very limited and sporadic in damp forests and especially cloud forests, bushy forest edges and small clearings with trees in the foothills and lower mountain regions. They are seasonal migratory birds. In the upper valley of the Río Anchicaya they are z. B. relatively numerous only in December and from April to May. They are found in Colombia at altitudes up to 1900 meters on both western Andes mountain ranges . Here they can be found from the Departamento Valle del Cauca to the Departamento de Nariño .

Etymology and history of research

Jules Bourcier described the purple-throated star hummingbird under the name Trochilus Mitchellii . The type specimen came from the collection of George Loddiges and is said to come from Zimapán. In 1831 Friedrich Boie introduced the genus Calliphlox . This name is derived from the Greek words καλλος, καλος , kallos , kalos , for 'beauty, beautiful' and φλοξ, φλογος , phlox , phlogos , for 'flame'. The species name mitchellii is dedicated to David William Mitchell (1813-1859).

literature

  • Steven Leon Hilty, William Leroy Brown: A guide to the birds of Colombia . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986, ISBN 978-0-691-08372-8 ( books.google.de ).
  • 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 , no. 171 , 1847, pp. 42-47 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Friedrich Boie: Comments on species and some ornithological families and clans . In: Isis von Oken . tape 24 , 1831, pp. 538-548 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Étienne Mulsant, Édouard Verreaux: Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches ou colibris constituant la famille des trochilidés . tape 4 . Deyrolle, Paris 1877 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Bahama's Star Hummingbird ( Calliphlox mitchellii )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Steven Leon Hilty u. a., p. 298.
  2. ↑ Jules Bourcier, p. 47.
  3. ^ Friedrich Boie, p. 544.
  4. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 85.
  5. ↑ Étienne Mulsant et al. a., p. 51.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Boie placed the Amethyst Woodstar ( Calliphlox amethystina ( Boddaert , 1783)) (= Troch. Amethystinus Gm.), The Ruby- ( Archilochus colubris ( Linnaeus , 1758)) (= Troch. Colubris Linn.), The violet-throated Hummingbird ( Heliomaster squamosus ( Temminck , 1823)) (= Troch. Mesoleucos Tem col 317), the Lucifer star hummingbird ( Calothorax lucifer ( Swainson , 1827)) (= Troch. Corruscus Licht.), The rose-throated hummingbird ( Heliomaster longirostris ( Audebert & Vieillot , 1801)) (= Troch . longirostris Vieil.), the red-backed cinnamon ( Selasphorus rufus ( Gmelin, JF , 1788)) (= Troch. sitchensis Rathke), the ruby hummingbird ( Clytolaema rubricauda ( Boddaert , 1783)) (= Troch. ruficauda Vieill.), the Broad-tailed hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus ( Swainson , 1827)) (= Troch. Purpurinus light.) And Troch. gutturalis P. Max in the new genus.