Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

Breastplate Hummingbird illustrated by John Gould

The Breastplate Hummingbird ( Phaeochroa cuvierii earlier Campylopterus cuvierii ) is a species of bird in the family of hummingbirds ( Trochilidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which covers about 240,000 square kilometers in the Central American countries, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, as well as the South American country Colombia. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The Breastplate Hummingbird reaches a body length of about 11.5 to 12.5 centimeters. The short, straight beak is about 18 millimeters long. Males and females are very similar. The face, neck and chest are marbled green. Behind the eyes, the hummingbird has a rather inconspicuous white spot. The dark cinnamon-colored belly is speckled green side. The wide, rectangular tail is black green with a white edge. Crown, nape and upper part green gray shimmer. The black outer feathers with white speckles recognizes you as soon as the bird spreads its tail.

Habitat

The bird prefers to live in moist evergreen forest. Sometimes you discovered him on clearings with scattered trees, in gardens or plantations. Usually it is found at altitudes up to 200 meters. Observations in dry areas are rather unusual.

Behavior

The Breastplate Hummingbird happy studied flowers and catches insects. He moves in a bandwidth that extends from the ground to the tree crown. You see him before flowers float, but also firmly krallend at the food. During the mating season the males chirping intensive. The breeding takes place mostly during the rainy season. They build on smaller trees, at altitudes 2-8 meters, a fluffy cup which is half open.

Subspecies

So far the following six subspecies are known:

• Phaeochroa cuvierii cuvierii ( Delattre & Bourcier, 1846)
• Phaeochroa cuvierii maculicauda Griscom, 1932
• Phaeochroa cuvierii saturatior ( Hartert, 1901)
• Phaeochroa cuvierii berlepschi Hellmayr, 1915
• Phaeochroa cuvierii furvescens Wetmore, 1967
• Phaeochroa cuvierii roberti ( Salvin, 1861)

The subspecies roberti can be found in extreme south-eastern Mexico, northern Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean coasts to the North East of Costa Rica. The subspecies maculicauda has been part of the Pacific coastal slopes of Costa Rica. Further south along the Pacific coast of Panama slopes west you come to the ssp. furvescens. The spp. saturatior can be observed in the Coiba National Park in Panama. In Eastern & Central Panama is the ssp.cuvierii present. Finally, one finds the subspecies berlepschi in the coastal regions of northern Colombia.

Etymology and History of Research

Pierre Adolphe Delattre and Bourcier Jules described the Breastplate hummingbird under the name Trochilus Cuvierii. The current generic name Phaeochroa derives from the Greek " phaios Φαιός " for " dark brown " and " Khros χρώς " from for " skin color ". The specific epithet was given in honor of Georges Cuvier ( 1769-1832 ). Salin described his subspecies under the name Aphantochora roberti, in honor of Robert Owen, who collected the type specimen in Verapaz (Guatemala). The subspecies ' berlepschi "is Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch dedicated the first time mentioned in 1887 as Barranquilla locality. Maculicauda is made up of the Latin " macula " together for " spot " and " cauda " for " tail ." Saturatior means " full color " furvescens " dark, gloomy becoming ."