Oasis Hummingbird

Atacama Hummingbird by John Gould Henry Constantine Richter painted by

The Atacama Hummingbird ( Rhodopis vesper ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The range of this species includes the countries of Peru and Chile. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The Atacama Hummingbird reaches a body length of about 13 cm, the arcuate beak makes up 33 mm. The subspecies are somewhat smaller. The top is gray - brown with the back light shines green to golden bronze. The rump is colored reddish brown. The bright underside is whitish gray. The throat of the male is purple, but the color goes sideways over bluish. This is in stark contrast to the white chest. The outer, black, 4 cm long tail feathers of the forked tail look very thin. In Plain dress the throat of the male is brown shingled. In females and juveniles, the underside is light gray throughout, with coloring in the region of the cloaca is white. The short, two-lobed tail is bronze-green and has a black band towards the end on. The ends of the outer three tail feathers adorn distinct white spots.

Male juveniles have a slightly speckled throat, which are occasionally crossed by sparkling, round spots. The semi- long tail is clearly patterned as is the case with the females.

Behavior

You see them often sit on the upper branches or electrical lines. The males fly during courtship in a U-shaped trajectory before the females. They usually fly to food intake legume trees, agaves, tobacco plants and cacti. Occasionally you can see them also on flowers or ripe fruit, which are also frequently visited by ants or from others birds.

Distribution and habitat

They come irregularly prior to frequently west of the Andes from sea level up to altitudes of 3800 meters. Here you can see them in the bushes, forest edges, in agricultural landscapes and gardens. They prefer the vegetation of the foggy areas and moist Loma area on the Peruvian coast.

Reproduction

They breed throughout the year, but most commonly between August and December. Your pocket-shaped nests they build, for example, in the overhanging branches of belonging to the genus Inga Inga kind feuilleei.

Vocalizations

Your reputation sounds like a swift flowing chatter, traversed by mighty chew sounds. The chatter sounds like melodic tzee - tzee -dee -dee, that only increases and then subsides.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies have been described which differ in their coloration, their size and distribution:

• Rhodopis vesper vesper ( Lesson, 1829) The nominate one finds from Piura to the Región de Tarapacá.
• Rhodopis vesper koepckeae Berlioz, 1974 The subspecies has a slightly shorter 19 mm long beak, as well as significantly less rust-brown rump. The distribution area is limited to the coastal areas of Peru near the Cerro Illescas in the Sechurawüste in the region of Piura.
• Rhodopis vesper atacamensis (Leybold, 1869) The slightly smaller subspecies comes from Chañaral in the Región de Atacama Copiapo over to the Región de Coquimbo ago. Your bill is only about 22 mm long.

Occasionally you can find in the literature the subspecies Rhodopis vesper tertia Hellmayr, 1932, but is now regarded as a synonym of the nominate form.

Etymology and History of Research

René Primevère Lesson was the first description no type specimen available. Instead, it was based on a drawing by Jean -Gabriel Prêtre, ( 1768-1849 ). The protonym is Ornismya vesper. Located only in the year 1854 Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach to the species of the genus Rhodopis. This name refers to the Greek courtesan Rhodopis ' Ροδωπις and means of rosy appearance. The epithet " vesper " is of Latin origin and means something like " evening ". This derives in turn from the planet Venus, the brightest star in the evening sky, from. A subspecies is named after Maria Koepcke who had collected some specimens in northern Peru. » Atacamensis " stands for Atacama region. Leybold obtained the type specimen from Copiapo from an Adolfo Paulsen.