Rufous-crested Coquette

Zierelfe ( Lophornis delattrei ); ( old name Telamon regulus )

The Zierelfe or Rotschopfelfe ( Lophornis delattrei ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which includes the Central and South American countries Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The relatively small Zierelfe reaches a body length of only about 7 centimeters and a weight of approximately 2.8 grams. The male has a red crown and very conspicuous tuft, which is colored black at the tips. The remaining upper part is bronze-green. Around the rump of hummingbird has a white band. The upper part of tail feathers are bronze - purple. At the feathers he is reddish brown in color mainly. There are bronze edges at the ends of the tail feathers. The neck glistening green and is criss-crossed by white feathers. The rest of the lower part is dark bronze - green and has reddish speckles on. The under tail is cinnamon brown blanket. The coral red thin beak 10 millimeters has dark spots. In the female, the face and the apex is cinnamon red. It bears no forelock. Dark brown speckles adorn the bright red to yellowish brown neck. The lower part is a little darker than in the male. Shortly before the end of the tail is a thin black stripe.

Habitat

This hummingbird at heights 500-1400 meters, but was already observed in 1900 meters. Preferred plants are flowering trees such as Inga, or belonging to the Rubiaceae Chimarrhis. Sometimes you can see him in flowers and bushes. He usually moves along forest edges and clearings.

Behavior

This hummingbird is a loner. One sees him often, as with most hummingbirds insects pick from plants or he's just on nectar search. His commuting flight resembles that of a bee. It is very difficult to detect by the small size. Therefore, there are hardly any reliable data on the behavior of the bird.

Subspecies

At the moment, two subspecies of Zierelfe are known. These are to:

• Lophornis delattrei delattrei ( Lesson, 1839)
• Lophornis delattrei lessoni (Simon, 1921)

The subspecies lessoni can be found on the mountain slopes in the southwest of Costa Rica and Panama, as well as Eastern and Central Andes of Colombia. Here they are in the departments of Magdalena and Santander. The subspecies delattrei comes in Ecuador in the Andes Napo Province. Marañón in Peru south and in the north of Bolivia before in the province of Beni and Santa Cruz.