White neck sylph
| White neck sylph | ||||||||||
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White-necked sylph ( Oreonympha nobilis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||
| Oreonympha | ||||||||||
| Gould, 1869 | ||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||
| Oreonympha nobilis | ||||||||||
| Gould , 1869 |
The white-necked sylph ( Oreonympha nobilis ) or mountain nymph is a bird from the hummingbird family (Trochilidae). The species is endemic to Peru . The IUCN classifies the population as Least Concern .
features
The white neck sylph reaches a body length of about 14 to 17 cm, with the black beak making up about 22 mm. The male's strongly forked tail, approx. 8.5 cm long, is bronze-colored with white outer tail feathers and dark edges on the inner flags. The color of the head including the outer area of the throat is bronze-black. The blackish cap is separated by a white band that extends from the neck to the chest. While the bronze-colored upper side is criss-crossed with chestnut-colored spots, the middle area of the lower side is almost white. The color of the long, thin, beard-like throat changes from emerald green in the upper area down to purple with blue spots. The front skull and the skull are violet-blue, whereby this merges into violet-black in the middle. The top of the head is lined with a shiny blue line. The females are very similar, but only have a small throat beard made up of white scales.
In male young birds , the approx. 6.5 cm long tail is slightly shorter. The beak is yellowish and the green cap looks dull. The top of the head is flaky. They also have a lackluster, earth-colored throat. A line of white spots adorns the beak and reins.
Subspecies
Two subspecies have been described, which differ in their coloration and range:
- Oreonympha nobilis nobilis ( Gould , 1869) - nominate form occurs in the Urubamba valley and around the city of Cusco, as well as in parts of the Río Apurímac valley at altitudes between 2500 and 3800 meters.
- Oreonympha nobilis albolimbata Berlioz , 1938 - The anterior skull and the skull of the male are blue-green with a white border interspersed with green speckles. In the female, the throat scales turn into a rein line that extends to the top of the head. This subspecies is present from Cotaruse to Mutca (in the Chalhuanca district ) on the Río Chalhuanca and at Yauli , Acoria and Lircay in the Huancavelica region .
behavior
As soon as other hummingbirds are around, they become very irritable and submissive. When they sit on the branches, they often tilt their tails upwards. They get their food from cacti , agaves , tobacco plants and eucalyptus . They fly vertically in front of the flowers and open and close the tail feathers. Occasionally they also cling to the flowers when they are taking in nectar.
distribution and habitat
They occur in dry Andean valleys, the slopes of which are covered with bush vegetation, as well as in open forests. These forests usually consist of pepper trees ( Schinus ), members of the genus Tecoma , which belong to the trumpet tree family , and melon trees . They can also be seen in mixed Polylepis / Escallonia forests with dense thorny bushes. Occasionally, they are also found in growing areas with eucalyptus. Very often you can spot them on solitary rocks.
Reproduction
It is believed that the birds breed in caves and crevices. The young are born between January and December.
Vocalizations
Her call sounds like a descending beeping series followed by a powerful chirping. This sounds like Swee swee chew-chew-chew . Occasionally they also utter a sober reply .
Etymology and history of research
The natural history collector Henry Whitely shot the type specimen that John Gould used for his first description in Tinta . The species is considered to be monotypical . The latest mitochondrial DNA analyzes show a close relationship to the helmet hummingbird ( Oxypogon guerinii ) and the shiny chestnut cap ( Chalcostigma ruficeps ). Since the shiny chestnut cap no longer fits into the genus Chalcostigma , it could be regrouped in the future.
The term “Oreonympha” is derived from the Greek words “oros” for “mountain” and “nymph” for “ nymph , young beauty”.
The specific epithet »noblis« comes from Latin and means »splendid, admirable, famous«. The word "albolimbata" is also of Latin origin and is composed of "albus" for "white" and "limbatus" for "lined, bordered".
literature
- Jon Fjeldså , Niels Krabbe : Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America . Apollo Books, Stenstrup 1990, ISBN 87-88757-16-1 .
- 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 978-0-7136-8673-9 .
- James A. Jobling: A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-854634-3 .
- Jimmy Adair McGuire, Christopher Cooper Witt, James Vanderbeek Remsen Jr, Robert Dudley, Douglas Leonard Altshuler: A higher-level taxonomy for hummingbird . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 150 , 2008, p. 155–165 ( online (PDF; 314 kB) [accessed on March 5, 2012]).
- John Gould: Description of a new genus and species of the family Trochilidae . In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 1869, p. 295-296 ( online [accessed March 5, 2012]).
- Jacques Berlioz: Monsieur J. Berlioz sent the following description of a new race of Humming-bird from Peru . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 5 , 1938, pp. 44-45 .
Web links
- Oreonympha nobilis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Bearded Mountaineer ( Oreonympha nobilis ) . Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Bearded Mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis) in the Internet Bird Collection
- White-necked sylph ( Oreonympha nobilis ) at Avibase; Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- Oreonympha nobilis in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Bearded Mountaineer ( Oreonympha nobilis )