Red-backed cinnamon rolls

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Red-backed cinnamon rolls
Red-backed Zimtelfe (Selasphorus rufus), male

Red-backed Zimtelfe ( Selasphorus rufus ), male

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Northern Elves ( Selasphorus )
Type : Red-backed cinnamon rolls
Scientific name
Selasphorus rufus
( Gmelin, JF , 1788)
Females on the nest

The Rufous hummingbird or Rufous Hummingbird ( Selasphorus rufus ) is one in the west of North America -based type of hummingbirds (Trochilidae). It is the most northerly common hummingbird species.

features

The birds have a wingspan of about 11 centimeters, are seven to nine centimeters long and weigh two to five grams. Females are on average slightly larger than males. The beak is long, very narrow and straight. The species shows a clear sexual dimorphism in color. The males are predominantly rust-brown, only the underside is a little lighter brown, the breast is white. The head and the iridescent colored neck stand out sharply from the white breast. The tail is orange with black tips. In some males, the top of the head and / or the back is green.

Females are green on the upper side, white on the underside and only show some iridescent orange feathers in the middle of the neck. The tail is orange at the base, greenish in the middle and shows a black subterminal band and white, rounded tips. The wing base and the area behind the wings is colored rust-red. Females and the rare green-backed males are very difficult to distinguish from the very similar Allen's hummingbird ( Selasphorus sasin ).

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the Red Ridge Zimtelfe

The distribution area extends in western North America from northern California to southern Alaska ; Red-backed Zimtelfen are thus the most northerly common hummingbird species. They live in open landscapes and on the edges of forests.

Way of life

The animals feed on nectar , which they suck from flowers with their long tongues, but they also eat insects that they prey on in flight. The males aggressively defend food sources within their territory. During the day there is an almost continuous search for food; During the night the birds become frozen torpor to save energy. The main natural enemies of this very small species of bird are insectivorous birds and mammals.

The mating season for the red-backed Zimtelfen is between April and July, with most mating in May. The males often mate with several females. The males courtship by flying about 20 to 45 meters above the female, then diving down to a few centimeters above the female in order to fly up again. During this flight, the frequency of their humming wing beats is particularly high at around 200 beats per second. If the female was successfully courted, she shows her white tips on the tail. Then the pairing takes place, which lasts only three to five seconds. The females build their nests hidden in bushes or conifers. The nest material consists of mosses, leaves and lichens, which are connected with each other with cobwebs. As a rule, two eggs about 13 millimeters long are laid in the nest. The young hatch after 12 to 14 days and leave the nest after about a week. The females defend their nest against enemies very aggressively, the males, however, play no role in the rearing and defense of the young.

hikes

The birds migrate regularly in July and August through the Rocky Mountains and the adjacent lowlands to take advantage of the abundance of flowers there. Sometimes they occupy a fixed territory there for some time, which is also defended. Most beetroot cinnamon trees overwinter in the forested areas of Guerrero in Mexico , at least 2,000 km from their summer habitats. Alaska birds migrate an average of 6,300 km. From the 1970s onwards, an increasing winter population was observed on the Gulf Coast of the United States, and today it is widespread there during this time of the year. This is mainly promoted by the establishment of artificial food sources for hummingbirds there, which greatly reduce winter mortality there. In the past, such a missed flight often led to the death of the animals, as they find far fewer natural food sources in the east. If there is enough food and shelter, red-backed cinnamon rolls are amazingly resilient and can survive temperatures down to -20 ° C.

Etymology and history of research

Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the hummingbird under the name Trochilus rufus . He gave Nootka Sound in America as the location . It was not until 1832 that the species was assigned to the genus Selasphorus by William Swainson . This word is derived from the Greek words "selas σελας " for "light, flame" and "-phoros, pherō -φορος, φερω " for "-bearing, carrying". “Rufus” is the Latin word for “red, reddish”.

literature

  • National Geographic Society: Field guide to the birds of North America. Washington 1983, pp. 260-261.
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Johann Friedrich Gmelin: Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis . tape 1 , no. 1 . Georg Emanuel Beer, Leipzig 1788 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed on August 9, 2014]).
  • William Swainson, John Richardson : Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America . containing descriptions of the objects of natural history collected on the late northern land expeditions, under command of Captain Sir John Franklin, RN Band 2 : The Birds . John Murray, London 1831 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed August 9, 2014]).

Web links

Commons : Rotücken-Zimtelfe  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geoffrey E. Hill, Robert R. Sargent, Martha B. Sargent: Recent Change in the Winter Distribution of Rufous Hummingbirds. In: The Auk. Vol. 115, No. 1, January 1998, pp. 240-245, JSTOR 4089135 .
  2. ↑ Johann Friedrich Gmelin, p. 497.
  3. ^ William Swainson, p. 324
  4. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 352.
  5. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 343.