White-breasted Andean Hummingbird
| White-breasted Andean Hummingbird | ||||||||||
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White-breasted Andean Hummingbird |
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| Aglaeactis aliciae | ||||||||||
| Salvin , 1896 |
The white-breasted Andean hummingbird ( Aglaeactis aliciae ), also known as the purple-backed hummingbird or purple- winged hummingbird , is a species of hummingbird belonging to the genus of retro-reflective hummingbirds . It is endemic to northern Peru .
description
The white-breasted Andean hummingbird reaches a size of 12 to 13 centimeters. The weight is 7.3 to 8.3 grams. The male's head and coat are earth-brown. The lower back and rump are shimmering purple. The under tail coverts are golden green. The reins, chin, throat, center of the chest, and tufts of breasts are white. The rest of the underside is dark brown. The tail is bronze with white tips. The short straight beak is black. In the female, the purple color on the back is reduced or completely absent. The immature birds look similar to the females. They have tan spots on their chin, throat, middle of the abdomen and on the reins. The throat can also be completely tan in color. The head feathers are lined with a tan color.
Occurrence and habitat
The white-breasted Andean hummingbird is restricted to the valleys of the Río Marañón and Río Chusgón on the eastern slope of the western Andes in the La Libertad region of northern Peru. He lives in semi-open Andean slopes at altitudes up to 2900-3500 m, which are dominated by alder and eucalyptus.
Way of life
Its diet consists of mistletoe flowers , including the species Tristerix longendeatum , which parasitizes on alders, and small insects. Little is known about its breeding biology. Fledglings and immature birds were observed in February, March and June.
status
From 1979 to 2006 there were regular records of the species only from the upper Marañón Valley near the village of El Molino, whose alder stocks were replaced by eucalyptus plantations. In an expedition funded by the American Bird Conservancy in the vicinity of the original site, ornithologists Fernando Angulo Pratolongo and Frank Lambert found that the white-breasted Andean hummingbird occurs in other locations, including the Chusgón Valley. This increased the area of the known distribution area from 1 km² to 178 to 333 km². Nevertheless, the entire habitat of the white-breasted Andean hummingbird is threatened by slash and burn to gain grazing land and by the deforestation of alder stocks. BirdLife International estimates the population at 1,000 to 2,500.
Etymology and history of research
Osbert Salvin described the white-breasted Andean hummingbird under the current name Aglaeactis aliciae . The type specimen collected Oscar Theodor Baron (1847-1926) at La Succha in the province of Cajamarca . Already in 1848 John Gould introduced the genus Aglaeactis . The name is made up of the Greek words "aglaia αγλαια " for "shine, splendor, glory" and " aktis ακτις " for "sunbeam". To whom Mrs. Salvin dedicated the specific epithet »aliciae« is not recognizable from his publication. However, it could be that it is a dedication to Dame Alice Mary Godman (1868–1944), the second wife of Frederick DuCane Godman , as Baron sent his hides from the Godman region and Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild .
literature
- J. Del Hoyo, A. Elliot, J. Sargatal (Eds.) (1999): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-25-3
- James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
- Osbert Salvin: Mr. Salvin Osbert, FRS, communicated the following description of a new species of Humming-bird from Northern Peru . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 5 , no. 33 , 1895, pp. XXIV-XXV ( online [accessed July 11, 2015]).
- John Gould: Drafts for a new arrangement of the Trochilidae . In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . tape 16 , no. 180 , 1848, pp. 11-14 ( online [accessed July 11, 2015]).
Web links
- Aglaeactis aliciae inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Purple-backed Sunbeam ( Aglaeactis aliciae ) . Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Purple-backed Sunbeam (Aglaeactis aliciae) in the Internet Bird Collection
- White-breasted Andean Hummingbird ( Aglaeactis aliciae ) at Avibase; Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- Aglaeactis aliciae in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Purple-backed Sunbeam ( Aglaeactis aliciae )
Individual evidence
Remarks
- ↑ The genus was introduced for the rust-red Andean hummingbird ( Aglaeactis cupripennis ( Bourcier , 1843)) and the black-bellied Andean hummingbird ( Aglaeactis pamela ( d'Orbigny , 1838)).