Chilean Woodstar

Aricaelfe painted by John Gould

The Aricaelfe ( Eulidia yarrellii ) is a small hummingbird from Chile. This species was named after the British ornithologist William Yarrell.

Description

The Aricaelfe reaches a length of eight centimeters. The top is shimmering olive green. The males have a conspicuous marked purple-red throat. The rest of the underside has a white color. The tail is much forked. The central feathers are green and short, the longer outer tail feathers are black. The females are yellow-brown below with a whitish tone. For them, the tail is ungegabelt and the tail feathers have a white tip.

Occurrence

The Aricaelfe breeds only in two valleys, the Lluta Valley and the Azapa Valley in the Arica Province in the far north of Chile.

Way of life

Their habitat are small fragments of native shrub vegetation in the river valleys of the Atacama Desert at an altitude up to 750 m. It is believed that it is taking walks up to an altitude of 2600 m. But need a contiguous vegetation along rivers in order to cope with such movements. It has often been reported that she is staying at the lantana and hibiscus flowers in the gardens. In such habitats, but it is pretty rare. In contrast to the large numbers that could be used to observe the flowers, preferably the Aricaelfe today more of a solitary life. The breeding season is in August and September.

Endangering

At the beginning of the 20th century Aricaelfe was still very common and widespread. By destroying their habitats go their endemic food plants back more and more. As the hummingbirds have less adapted to the new plant than first thought, the stock is in decline. Today he is 2500-10000 copies.

Pictures of Chilean Woodstar

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