Fiery-throated Hummingbird

Fire -throated Hummingbird

The fire -throated Hummingbird ( Panterpe insignis ) is a sailor bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). He comes from the south-west of Costa Rica prior to Panama. The stock is classified by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The fire -throated Hummingbird reaches a body length of about 11 cm with a weight of about 5.7 g The skull is royal blue, while the sides of the head and neck are black. The back is green. The upper tail coverts are bluish and go on the tail in dark blue on. The throat glistens bright copper- orange, what goes in the middle of the chest in violet blue. The abdomen is green to bluish. The black beak is colored at the base of the lower mandible pink.

Juveniles are similar to the full-blown fire -throated hummingbirds, but have rust-colored hems on to face and neck feathers.

Distribution and habitat

One finds the birds in the vicinity of higher mountains in the Cordillera de Guanacaste at the volcano Miravalles to Panama. Here they move in the northern Cordillera at elevations around 1400 meters and in the Cordillera de Talamanca to 2000 meters. After hatching, but they are found also in heights up to 750 meters.

Behavior

The birds move predominantly in the crowns of forest trees. Every now and then they make trips to shrubs along forest edges, clearings and in the secondary vegetation. They prefer the flowers of epiphytes, especially ericaceous as Cavendishia and Macleania or scrub as belonging to the bluebells plants Centropogon. Often they sting long tubular flowers or use the holes that are already on the hook beaks ( Diglossa ) or bumblebees were made. They are very lively, loud and aggressive way and defend food rich plants.

Vocalizations

Your reputation sounds like a mixture of high, liquid to sharp and piercing singing, clattering and whirring. In the males, no real melody can be seen. In courtship, they give a buzzing sound.

Reproduction

The males assist in incubation and share during this time their plant with the females. Their nest is a thick cup of treefern fibers, fallen plants and cobwebs. The outer sides cover them tightly with moss and lichens. They build their nests in 2 to 4 meters high on bamboo stems or uprooted trees that are overhanging.

Subspecies

Currently, two subspecies are distinguished:

• Panterpe insignis insignis Cabanis & Heine, 1860. The nominate is spread by the north central Costa Rica in the Cordillera de Tilarán up in western Panama.
• Panterpe insignis iron manni Stiles, 1985. This subspecies occurs in the Cordillera de Guanacaste only in the northwest of Costa Rica. It differs by very much clearer violet blue color on the stomach, chest and upper tail-coverts. The skull is significantly darker than the nominate form, with the Black pulls up into the upper region of the back. It also has a much shorter beak.

Etymology and History of Research

Jean Louis Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine described the hummingbird under the currently valid name Panterpe insignis. The type specimen came from the Zoological Museum in Berlin and had been collected by Karl Hoffmann in Costa Rica.

The word " Panterpe " comes from the Greek word " panterpēs παντερπής " for " totally adorable " from. The Latin word " insignis " stands for " extraordinary, remarkable ." The word " iron manni " honors the American- Panamanian ornithologist Eugene Eisenmann (1906-1981), the Frank Gary Stiles thanks that it motivated him to make this inquiry, although this type of research in scientific circles only enjoys little respect.