Mountain Avocetbill

Stain abdominal Avosettkolibri John Gould Henry Constantine Richter painted by

The stain abdominal Avosettkolibri ( Opisthoprora euryptera ) or sword -billed Hummingbird is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ) and the only species of the genus Opisthoprora. The range of this species includes the countries of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The stain abdominal Avosettkolibri reaches a body length of about 10 cm. The short, 13 mm long beak is curved at the top clearly upwards. The top is shiny green, the head and the neck noticeably stand out copper color. Behind the eye is a small white spot. The whitish underside is covered by dense green patches, which looks at the throat and breast like strips. In the lower Bauchbreich and on the under tail-coverts the coloring goes to yellow-brown. The relatively short, broad tail is blue-black with a few white spots. The central tail feathers are bronze.

Behavior

There is relatively little is known about their behavior. They are usually loners. So you can watch clinging located at heights 1-3 feet above the ground and often in the thicket they in Schwirrflug or tiny tubular plants. When they rest, they usually sit on the branches of the lower strata. Compared to other species of hummingbirds they act at times relatively inactive. They like to fly to the belonging to the family of bluebells plants Centropogon.

Distribution and habitat

They come only irregularly in the undergrowth of moist mountain forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru at altitudes of 2700-3200 meters in front. Here they are rarely to be discovered in the Cordillera del Colán in the province of Chachapoyas and in the region of La Libertad. In Ecuador, they are most common in the northeast of the country. From the south, there are only isolated reports of the Cordillera del Zapote - Najda in the province of Morona Santiago, from Sabanilla in the province of Loja, of Cajanuma National Park Podocarpus and on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera las Lagunillas. Only Sabanilla they were spotted at an altitude of 1700 meters, otherwise, they are also in Ecuador at altitudes 2400-3200 meters active. In Colombia, their range extends from the western slopes of the central Andes in the Departamento de Caldas, on the eastern and western slopes of the Andes of the Departamento de Cauca, and on the eastern slopes in Departamento de Narino. Most often you can discover Puracé it in the National Park.

Vocalizations

Your reputation consists of decreasing series of thin whistles. These sound like WSEE, WSEE, WSEE.

Etymology and History of Research

George Loddiges described the Hummingbird originally under the name Trochilus Eurypterus. He received from the collection of John Gould The type specimen; it came from the area around Popayán. Only later did the species of the genus Opisthoprora was slammed.

The term " Opisthoprora " derives from the Greek words " opisthe στρεβλός " for " wrong " and " PRORA, πρωρα ράμφος " for " beak " from. The Greek epithet " euryptera " is a word formations from » Eurys εΰρυς " for " wide " and " - pteros - πτερος " for " - winged ."