Purple-bibbed Whitetip

Purple chest Hummingbird ( Urosticte benjamini )

The purple chest Hummingbird ( Urosticte benjamini ) or sometimes Weißspitzchen is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which covers about 17,000 square kilometers in the South American countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The male breast Purple Hummingbird reaches a body length of about 9 inches, while the female is only about 7.5 inches is big. The straight black beak is about 20 millimeters long. Most of the plumage of the male is shimmering green. The throat is glistening dark green. There is a crescent-shaped violet spot on the chest. Postokular ( behind the eyes ), there is a striking white polka dots. The range of black bronze tail has white speckles on the central tail feathers. The female is glossy green and has postokular also a white patch. The lower part is white and thick with green speckles, especially on the throat and chest, running through it. The bronze-colored, ranging tail has white speckles on the outer feathers.

Habitat

The bird moves mainly inside protected humid forests. This makes it very hard to watch him. Rarely do we see him also on forest edges. Sometimes you see him at the flowering Inga tree or Guaba, a tree of the family of mimosa plants. One observes him at altitudes between 700 to 1500 meters.

It is found on the slopes of the Pacific in the west of Colombia at the headwaters of the Río San Juan. He also has a presence in the south and south-west of Ecuador in the province of El Oro, and the Northeastern Peru.

Behavior

The hummingbird gets its feed from ground-level flower up to trees. As a loner, he floats to explore its environment from branch to branch or below the foliage. Sometimes he visits the far-flung flowers of the undergrowth. He usually sits quietly in the interior of the tree crown.

Subspecies

Previously, the subspecies Urosticte benjamini benjamini ( Bourcier, 1851) and Urosticte benjamini ruficrissa (Lawrence, 1864) prized. Today Urosticte benjamini ruficrissa is considered Rotsteißkolibri ( Urosticte ruficrissa ) and thus as a separate species. For the first time the species was discovered in Gualea Ecuador.