Horned Sungem

Illustration of the golden hats jewelry hummingbird in "A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming -birds " by John Gould

The gold domes jewelry hummingbird or Sonnenstrahlelfe ( Heliactin bilophus ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which covers about 2.5 million square kilometers in the South American countries of Suriname, Brazil and Bolivia. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The male Goldhauben jewelry hummingbird on each side of his head red, blue and golden feather tufts. The back is iridescent green. The black throat and chest goes towards the belly over the white. He has an acute long tail. The female resembles the male. Only the distinctive colorful color pattern on the head is missing in the female. Instead, the head is colored like the back.

Habitat

The hummingbird preferred dry climate and semi-open habitats such as forest edges and grasslands. So you can often find him in typical Cerrado savannah in Brazil.

Behavior

The usual diet consists of nectar and small insects. With up to 90 wing beats per second, the bird is in the Guinness Book of World Records, mentioned as the bird with the largest wing strokes per second.

Subspecies

There are yet no subspecies of the golden hats jewelry hummingbird known. However, the scientific name of Heliactin cornuta and Heliactin bilopha was today set to Heliactin bilophus.

Dissemination

You can find the hummingbird from the extreme south of Surinam on the northern central Brazil to the east and central Brazil. Its presence extends across states of Amapá, Maranhão and Alagoas, southern Bahia to São Paulo and in the west by Mato Grosso. He rarely was observed in Rondônia. There are reports that it also occurs in Acre in western Brazil. In eastern Bolivia, he is present in the department of Santa Cruz.