Nombre en español: Diamante Pechigamuza

Nombre en ingles: Fawn-breasted Brilliant

Nombre científico: Heliodoxa rubinoides

Familia: Trochilidae

Canto: Jonas Nilsson

El brillante pechigamuza o diamante pechigamuza (Heliodoxa rubinoides), es una especie de ave de la familia Trochilidae, que se encuentra en Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú.

Hábitat

Vive en el bosque húmedo de montaña y el bosque de niebla, en elevaciones de más de 1.000 msnm, preferentemente entre los 1.800 y 2.600 m de altitud.

Descripción

Mide 11,2 cm longitud. Su pico es ligeramente curvado y mide 23 mm de largo. Las partes superiores del macho son de color verde brillante; las inferiores ante canela; la garganta y lados del pecho tienen discos verdes; la cola es verde cobrizo. El macho presenta un parche rosa topacio o lila en el centro de baja garganta.

Alimentación

Se alimenta principalmente del néctar de las flores con el mayor contenido de azúcar. Extiende su lengua y lame el néctar aproximadamente 13 veces por segundo. También se alimenta de insectos y arañas; atrapa las presas en vuelo o en las ramas y telarañas.

Reproducción

El macho corteja a la hembra volando frente a ella en «U» y la abandona después del apareamiento. La hembra construye el nido en arbustos, matorrales o árboles, en forma de taza, usando fibras vegetales para la estructura y el musgo para el camuflaje. Pone normalmente dos huevos blancos que incuba durante 12 días. Los pichones abandonan el nido a los 20 días.

Subespecies

Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis (Colombia y Ecuador, cerca de la vertiente occidental de los Andes)
Heliodoxa rubinoides cervinigularis (Ecuador y Peru, cerca de la vertiente oriental de los Andes)
Heliodoxa rubinoides rubinoides (Colombia, en las cordilleras central y oriental)

Fawn-breasted brilliant

The fawn-breasted brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides) is a species of hummingbird. It is native to South America, where it occurs in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Other common names include lilac-throated brilliant in English and brillante pechigamuza, colibrí de vientre ocre, and diamante pechigamuza in Spanish.

Taxonomy

The fawn-breasted brilliant is a member of the hummingbird family, Trochilidae.

There are 3 subspecies:

Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis (Colombia and Ecuador, western slope of the Andes Mountains)
Heliodoxa rubinoides cervinigularis (Ecuador and Peru, eastern slope of the Andes)
Heliodoxa rubinoides rubinoides (Colombia, central and eastern Andes)

Description

The bird is green above and an iridescent copper on the underparts. It has areas of fawn and green and copper spotting. The beak is long and slightly curved.

Distribution and habitat

The fawn-breasted brilliant is native to the Andes, the various subspecies occupying different mountain slopes. It is somewhat uncommon, with a patchy distribution, but it is of least concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It lives in tropical forest.

Behavior

Diet

The diet of the fawn-breasted brilliant mainly consists of nectar. It defends quality nectar flowers from other nectarivores, including insects such as bumblebees. When feeding it hovers before the flower or hangs from it, and inserts its tongue up to 13 times per second. It will also visit bird feeders and will drink water from fountains and bird baths. It takes small insects and spiders for extra protein. The female catches large quantities of insects during breeding because they are an important food for the chicks. The bird catches insect prey by hawking, picking them from plants, and plucking them from spider webs.

Breeding

The bird is only social during breeding. The male performs a courtship display by flying in U-shaped patterns before the female. There is no pair bond and the male is not involved with nesting or the rearing of the young. Both male and female mate with several partners.

The female constructs a nest in a shrub or tree. It is made of plant fibers, spider webs, animal hairs, and down, and it is lined externally with moss for camouflage. She lays a clutch of two white eggs. She regurgitates insect material for the chicks, because they cannot persist on nectar alone. She broods the chicks for about 12 days, after which there is not enough room for her in the nest. The young depart at about 20 days.