White-bellied elf

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White-bellied elf
White-bellied elf (Chaetocercus mulsant), ♀

White-bellied elf ( Chaetocercus mulsant ), ♀

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Tribe : Mellisugini
Genre : Dwarfs ( Chaetocercus )
Type : White-bellied elf
Scientific name
Chaetocercus mulsant
( Bourcier , 1843)

The white-bellied elf ( Chaetocercus mulsant ) or sometimes pointed tail elf is a species of bird from the hummingbird family (Trochilidae). The species has a range that covers about 260,000 square kilometers in the South American countries of Colombia , Ecuador , Peru, and Bolivia . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

White-bellied elf ( Chaetocercus mulsant ), ♂

The male white-bellied elf reaches a body length of about 8 to 8.5 centimeters, while the female is only about 7.5 centimeters tall. The straight beak becomes about 17 millimeters long. This is relatively large in relation to the size of the bird. The upper part of the male is bright green. A white spot extends postocularly (behind the eyes) down to the wings. The throat sparkles pink to purple. The lower part is predominantly white. The dark green side is in stark contrast to this. The tail is short and pointed. The outer feathers of the tail are black. The top of the female is bronze green. The postocular stripe is more prominent than in the male. The lower part is predominantly white. Laterally up to the wings it is reddish. The tail is shorter than that of the male.

Habitat

Distribution area of ​​the white-bellied elf

The bird is generally not native to the forest. You can see it mainly on the blossoms of trees in semi-open areas and in gardens. He rarely moves in damp forest edges. In Peru and Ecuador it is found at altitudes between 800 and 3500 meters. In Colombia it moves between 1500 and 2800 meters. The species is scattered irregularly in the central and eastern regions of Colombia to Ecuador and Peru as well as central Bolivia. In Bolivia they can be found in the Yungas region near Cochabamba . In Peru it is mostly present in the valley of the Marañón River. But you can also meet them in the Piura .

behavior

The bird is more of a loner. It hovers like an insect between flowers and blossoming trees close to the ground. He likes to sit on protruding defoliated branches or on the crown of bushes or large trees. The bird often wags its tail slowly while eating.

Subspecies

There are no known subspecies of the white-bellied elf. The species is considered to be monotypical .

Etymology and history of research

Jules Bourcier described the white-bellied elf under the name Ornismya Mulsant . The type specimen came from Colombia, although Bourcier also knew the species from Yungas in Bolivia. Bourcier had published the species both in the scientific journal Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne and in Annales des sciences physiques et naturelles, d'agriculture et d'industrie , but in Annales des sciences he used the specific epithet mulsanti , which appears in numerous Publications. Despite the dates of both volumes, both articles did not appear until 1843. The species was later assigned to the genus Chaetocercus . This name is derived from the Greek words "khaitē χαίτη " for "hair" and "kerkos κέρκος " for "tail". The species is dedicated to Bourcier's friend, the entomologist Étienne Mulsant (1797-1880).

literature

  • Steven Leon Hilty , William Leroy Brown : A guide to the birds of Colombia . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986, ISBN 0-691-08372-X ( books.google.de ).
  • Robert Sterling Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield: Birds of Ecuador Field Guide . tape 2 . Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York 2001, ISBN 0-8014-8721-8 .
  • Thomas Scott Schulenberg, Douglas Forrester Stotz, Daniel Franklin Lane, John Patton O'Neill, Theodore Albert Parker III : Birds of Peru . Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2007, ISBN 978-0-691-04915-1 .
  • Normand David, Alan Peter Peterson: Resolution of priority affecting three hummingbird names established by Bourcier (Aves: Trochilidae) . In: Zoological Bibliography . tape 1 , no. 1 , 2010, p. 3–5 ( avespress.com [PDF; accessed April 4, 2014]).
  • Jules Bourcier: Description of the trois nouvelles espèces d'Oiseaux-mouches . In: Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne . tape 5 , 1842, pp. 373–374 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed April 4, 2014] a).
  • Jules Bourcier: Description et figures des plusieurs espèces nouvelles d'oiseaux-mouches . In: Annales des sciences physiques et naturelles, d'agriculture et d'industrie . tape 5 , 1842, pp. 344–345 ( reader.digitale-sammlungen.de [accessed on February 23, 2014] b).
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .

Web links

Commons : White-bellied Elf ( Chaetocercus mulsant )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Steven Leon Hilty et al., P. 299.
  2. ^ Robert Sterling Ridgely et al., P. 294.
  3. ↑ Thomas Scott Schulenberg et al., P. 248.
  4. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds.
  5. ↑ Jules Bourcier (1842a), p. 373.
  6. ↑ Jules Bourcier (1842a), p. 374.
  7. ↑ Jules Bourcier (1842b), p. 344.
  8. ^ Normand David et al. a., pp. 3-5. A more detailed explanation of the name and the publication date according to the International Rules for Zoological Nomenclature is given here.
  9. ↑ James A. Jobling p. 98
  10. ↑ Jules Bourcier (1842b), p. 345.