White-headed elf

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White-headed elf
White-headed elf ♂

White-headed elf ♂

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Sailor birds (Apodiformes)
Family : Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Tribe : Coquettes (Lophornitini)
Genre : Lophornis
Type : White-headed elf
Scientific name
Lophornis adorabilis
Salvin , 1870

The white-headed elf ( Lophornis adorabilis ) is a species of bird from the hummingbird family (Trochilidae) that occurs in Panama and Costa Rica . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern (not endangered).

features

White-headed elf, ♀

The white-headed elf reaches a body length of about 7 to 7.8 cm, with a weight of about 2.7 g. The male has a red straight bill with a black tip. The front skull is fiery copper-colored, the crest white. The rest of the top is bronze green with a brown-yellow band on the rump. The lower part of the rump and the upper tail-coverts are purple-bronze. The throat and the elongated, hair-like tufts glisten green. The breast is white, the rest of the underside is cinnamon to reddish brown and is decorated with a few green spots on the flanks. The forked tail is reddish maroon with bronze-green edges. In the female, the crest and tufts are missing. The upper beak is black, the lower beak red with a black tip. The upper side is the same color as that of the male, maybe a little blunt. A black mask adorns the face. The throat and chest are white with small bronze-colored spots. The rest of the underside is cinnamon to reddish brown. The tail is decorated with a blackish subterminal band. Young birds are similar in color to the females, with the males having green spots on their throats.

Behavior and nutrition

The white-headed elf gets its nectar from the flowers of plants of the genus Inga , the genus Lonchocarpus belonging to the butterflies , the genus Stachytarpheta belonging to the verbena family and the genus Vochysia . She collects insects from leaves and twigs. The white-headed elf is usually dominated by larger hummingbird species at feeding sites. As a trapliner, it flies regularly in quick succession to very specific, scattered flowers.

Vocalizations

Usually the white-headed elf is calm. The song exists in the food intake of a short tsip or Tschip they sometimes are in rapid sequence of itself. In flight, the shaking wing beat sounds like a bee.

Brood

Their breeding season lasts from December to February. The chalice-like nest is made of soft fallen plant material, which they decorate with lichen on the outside. They build this 5 to 20 meters above the ground and place it on the ends of branches. Mostly these are located at the edges of the forest and in forest clearings. The clutch consists of two eggs that are only incubated by the soaking. The breeding season is not known. The nestlings fledge at around 21 to 22 days.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area (green) of the white-headed elf

The white-headed elf prefers wet forests, forest edges, secondary vegetation and shady plantations at altitudes between 300 and 1200 meters. Usually it collects food in the strata at the height of the treetops, but occasionally also in the lower strata of the secondary vegetation and its edges.

Subspecies

The species is considered to be monotypical .

migration

The white-headed elf is considered a resident bird , with seasonal migrations in the high areas.

Etymology and history of research

Osbert Salvin described the hummingbird under its current name Lophornis adorabilis . The type specimen was collected by Enrique Arcé in the Bugaba district near the Volcán Barú . In 1829 René Primevère Lesson introduced the new genus Lophornis for the ornamental elf . "Lophornis" is made up of the Greek words "lophos λόφος " for "crown, forehead" and "ornis όρνις " for "bird". The specific epithet »adorabilis« is Latin and means »enchanting, adorable«, derived from »adorare« for »to adore«.

literature

  • Thomas Züchner, Peter Boesman in: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal , David Andrew Christie , Eduardo de Juana: White-crested Coquette (Lophornis adorabilis) in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Osbert Salvin: On some Collections of Birds from Veragua (Part II) . In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1870 . No. 6 , 1870, p. 175-219 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • René Primevère Lesson: Histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches, ouvrage orné de planches desinées et gravée par les meilleurs artistes et dédié A SAR Mademoiselle. - 81 plates (Prêtre, Antoine Germaine Bévalet, Marie Clémence Lesson after Louis Pierre Vieillot, Antoine Charles Vauthier after William Swainson, Pancrace Bessa , Elisa Zoé Dumont de Sainte Croix) . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1829 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Thomas Züchner u. a.
  2. ^ IOC World Bird List Hummingbirds
  3. ^ Osbert Salvin, p. 207.
  4. ↑ René Primevère Lesson, pp. Xxxvii
  5. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 230
  6. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 32

Remarks

  1. ↑ Lesson categorized Ornismya Nattereri a synonym for the hyacinth visorbearer ( Augastes scutatus ( Temminck , 1824)), Ornismya petasophora a synonym for the white-vented violetear ( Colibri serrirostris ( Vieillot , 1816)), Ornismya delalandii a synonym for the Grünhaubenelfe ( Stephanoxis lalandi ( Vieillot , 1818)), Ornismya cristata a synonym for the Antilles hood Hummingbird ( Orthorhyncus cristatus ( Linnaeus , 1758)), Ornismya ornata a synonym for Schmuckelfe ( Lophornis ornatus ( Boddaert , 1783)), Ornismya strumaria synonymous with frilled coquette ( Lophornis magnificus ( Vieillot , 1817)) and Ornismya vieillotii a synonym for butterfly elf ( Lophornis chalybeus ( Temminck , 1821)) in the new genus.