Violet-throated hummingbird

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Violet-throated hummingbird
Violet-throated hummingbird ♂

Violet-throated hummingbird ♂

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Tribe : Lampornithini
Genre : Sun seeker ( Heliomaster )
Type : Violet-throated hummingbird
Scientific name
Heliomaster squamosus
( Temminck , 1823)

The violet- throated hummingbird ( Heliomaster squamosus ), sometimes also called Temminck's hummingbird or Temminck's chalice , is a species of bird in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae) that is endemic to Brazil . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern . The species is considered to be monotypical .

features

Violet-throated hummingbird ♀

The violet-throated hummingbird reaches a body length of about 11.2 to 12.4 cm, with a weight of 5 to 6.5 g. The male has a long curved black beak. The top of the head shimmers green, the rest of the top is bronze green. The throat shimmers purple, the lateral feathers are longer. The underside is greenish black with a white central stiffener. The tail is forked, the central control feathers bronze-green. The remaining control feathers are dark blue-green. In July after breeding, males develop a plain dress with gray throats and black spots. In October it will have its splendor again . Females are similar on top to the male. The throat feathers are blackish green with white edges. To the rear the plumage is grayish with a white central line and greenish flanks. The tail is only slightly forked. The outer green control feathers have a steel blue subterminal band with white tips. Young animals resemble the females.

Behavior and nutrition

The violet-throated hummingbird gets its nectar from native and imported scrub and trees, such as B. Hibiscus , coral trees , Spathodea , Tabebuia , Delonix , Costus , Heliconias , Vochysia , Bilbergia , Eucalyptus and Bauhinien . She also seeks out Aechmea maculata . Foraging takes place in the Straten at 3 to 8 meters above the ground. In a study of flowering plants it was when you visit Allamanda blanchetii , Tabebuia impetiginosa , spectabile encholirium , Hohenbergia catingae , tacinga Palma dora , Ipomoea , Cnidoscolus halteris , Croton blanchetianus , Bauhinia cheilantha , Duklja grandiflora , Ceiba glaziovii and Melochia tomentosa observed. Interestingly, Croton blanchetianus was only visited by this species of hummingbird. It is considered territorial on flowers , devoting the most attention to conspecific species and less targeting other hummingbird species. He hunts insects in flight by chasing them.

Vocalizations

The singing of the violet-throated hummingbird is probably a muffled, lively scratchy warble that sounds like bzzzrrrr..bzzzrrr..chi-chi-chi-chi..bzrrr . The call also includes a liquid tsik tone.

Reproduction

The violet-throated hummingbird breeding season is February through April, but reports have also been made in November. He builds the goblet-like nest on a horizontal tree branch 6 to 8 meters above the ground. Occasionally it can also be built higher. Once a nest was even discovered on a power pole surrounded by bromeliads of the genus Tillandsia . The clutch consists of two eggs that weigh approx. 0.65 g and are approx. 15.7 × 9.2 mm in size. The incubation period is 14 to 16 days and incubation is carried out exclusively by the female. The chicks are black with a grayish stripe on the back. The nestlings fledge after 21 to 24 days. The first brood occurs in the second year of life of the birds.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the violet-throated hummingbird

The violet-throated hummingbird prefers the forests and savannas of the lowlands at altitudes of up to 800 meters. These are located in eastern Brazil from Pernambuco via Bahia , Goiás and Minas Gerais to São Paulo . In the extreme north-east of Argentina in the province of Misiones , he has also allegedly been sighted.

migration

The violet-throated hummingbird is generally considered to be a resident bird . No migration behavior was observed in a study in the Serra do Pará in Pernambuco. Since it appeared in northeast Argentina in November 2009, this could indicate occasional migration behavior.

Etymology and history of research

  • Violet-throated hummingbird (Figure 1) illustrated by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (part of the first description)

  • Violet-throated hummingbird illustrated by Pêtre

The violet-throated hummingbird was first described in 1823 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck under the scientific name Trochilus squamosus . Johann Natterer had collected the type specimen in Brazil. It was in 1850 Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte who introduced the new Heliomaster genus . This Greek word structure is made up of the words “hēlios μεταλλον ” for “sun” and “mastēr μαστερ ” for “seeker”. The species name "squamosus" is the Latin word for "scaly" from "squama" and "scales".

literature

Web links

Commons : Violet-throated Hummingbird ( Heliomaster squamosus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Karl-Ludwig Schuchmann u. a.
  3. ^ Coenraad Jacob Temminck, pp. 99-100, plate 203 Figure 1
  4. ^ Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (1850), p. 274.
  5. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 188
  6. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 364.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Edward Clive Dickinson worked out the exact publication dates of Temminck's work in his article. Plate 203 belonged to delivery 34 from 1823.
  2. ↑ Bonaparte arranged the genus following species: Blaubart Kolibri ( Heliomaster furcifer ( Shaw , 1812)) (Syn: Ornismya Angelae , the Rose-throated Hummingbird , the violet-throated Hummingbird ( Heliomaster squamosus ( Temminck , 1823)) (Syn: Trochilus mesoleucus ), the Rubin Kolibri ( Clytolaema rubricauda ( Boddaert , 1783)) (Syn: Trochilus rubineus ) and brown-bellied brilliant hummingbird ( Heliodoxa rubinoides ( Bourcier & Mulsant , 1846))).