Cinnamon Hummingbird

Zimtbauchamazilie ( Amasilia rutila )

The Zimtbauchamazilie ( Amasilia rutila ), sometimes called Rostamazilie or rust - Amazilie, a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which covers about 350,000 square kilometers in the Central American countries, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador and Nicaragua and the United States. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The Zimtbauchamazilie reaches a body length of about 10 and 11,5 centimeters. The coral beak is 19 to 24 millimeters long. The tail is red-brown and reaches a length of 31-37 millimeters. The relatively large hummingbird is particularly distinguished by its cinnamon-colored underside. The crown, the neck and the upper side are pale green, a color that merges into the greenish- bronze in the rear part to the rump. Males and females are very similar in plumage and behavior. Minor color differences exist in terms of the beak.

Behavior

The bird is quite aggressive when it comes to the defense of his mining area and the associated sources of nectar over other hummingbirds or insects. The breeding season is from November to February and June and July. In western Mexico, the Zimtbauchamazilien also breed in September. The cup-shaped, well-camouflaged nests are built from thin vegetable fibers, feathers and animal hair.

Habitat

One finds the Zimtbauchamazilie in forests of the lowlands and middle altitudes. The bird preferred bushy ground in pine forests, but also in the coastal region. Since the hummingbird has adapted well to human cultural landscapes, it can also be observed in gardens, parks and plantations.

Subspecies

So far the following four subspecies are known:

• Amasilia rutila corallirostris ( Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
• Amasilia rutila diluta van Rossem, 1938
• Amasilia rutila gray soni Lawrence, 1867
• Amasilia rutila rutila ( Delattre, 1843)

The subspecies diluta can be found in northwestern Mexico in the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit. The subspecies is gray soni found on the Marias Islands. In the west and southwestern Mexico, in the states of Jalisco and Oaxaca, one encounters the ssp. rutila. The spp. corallirostris comes from the south and south-eastern Mexico, in the states of Chiapas and Yucatán, to Costa Rica.

Etymology and History of Research

Pierre Adolphe Delattre described the Zimtbauchamazilie under the name Ornismya rutila. The type specimen was designed by Pierre Adolphe Lesson (1805-1888), brother of René Primevère Lesson, collected in Acapulco. Later, the species of the genus Amasilia been assigned. This word comes from a novel by Jean -François Marmontel, who reported in Les Incas, ou La Destruction De L'empire you Pérou of an Inca heroine named Amazili. The species name (Latin " rutilus " for " golden reddish, brown gold " ) refers to the plumage color. The names of the species are from the beak color ( " corallirostris " from the Latin " corallinus " for " coral " and " rostrum " for " beak " ) and overall impression (" diluta " for " pale, bright, diluted " ) is derived. The name " gray soni " is dedicated to Colonel Andrew Jackson Grayson (1819-1869), who collected the type specimen in Mazatlan.