Blackhead elf

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blackhead elf
Black-headed elf (Lophornis helenae)

Black-headed elf ( Lophornis helenae )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Genre : Crested Hummingbirds ( Lophornis )
Type : Blackhead elf
Scientific name
Lophornis helenae
( Delattre , 1843)

The black-headed elf ( Lophornis helenae ) is a species of bird from the hummingbird family (Trochilidae). The species has a large range that covers about 250,000 square kilometers in the Central American countries of Belize , Costa Rica , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico, and Nicaragua . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

Black-headed elves reach a body length of about 7.5 centimeters and a wingspan of about 10 centimeters. The back is bronze green and has a white band just above the tail. This is short and reddish-brown, the central feathers are bronze-colored. The beak is short, straight and reddish with a dark tip. The males wear a green crown with a long, thin, black bonnet. Long, yellowish-brown tufts of feathers sit over the ears. The throat is bright green and the chest has a black, laterally protruding feather comb. The belly is whitish with large copper spots. The females have no headdress. Her cheeks are dark, the throat is yellowish brown with green spots. The tail has a broad, black horizontal stripe on them.

Habitat

Distribution of the black-headed elf

The species is found in moist primary and secondary forests as well as in clearings and on the edges of forests .

subspecies

No subspecies are currently recognized. The species is therefore considered to be monotypical .

Etymology and history of research

Adolphe Delattre described the black- headed elf under the name Ornismya Helenæ . He gave Vera Paz in Guatemala as the place of discovery . Only later was the species assigned to the genus Lophornis . "Lophornis" is made up of the Greek words "lophos λόφος " for "crown, forehead" and "ornis όρνις " for "bird". The specific epithet »helenae« was given in honor of Hélène d'Orléans .

literature

  • Robert S. Ridgely , John A. Gwynne: A Guide to the Birds of Panama: With Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1992, ISBN 978-0-691-02512-4 .
  • Ernest Preston Edwards, Edward Murrell Butler: A field guide to the birds of Mexico and adjacent areas: Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador . 3. Edition. University of Texas Press, Austin 1998, ISBN 978-0-292-72091-6 .
  • H. Rappole, Gene W. Blacklock: Birds of Texas: A Field Guide . Texas A&M University Press, College Station 1994, ISBN 978-0-89096-545-0 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Adolphe Delattre : Description d'un Oiseau-Mouche noveau, Ornismya Helenæ . In: Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne . tape 6 , 1843, pp. 133 ( online [accessed March 24, 2014]).

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernest Preston Edwards et al., P. 73
  2. Robert S. Ridgely et al., P. 211
  3. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  4. a b Adolphe Delattre, p. 133
  5. James A. Jobling, p. 230