Ninfa Morada/Fork-tailed Woodnymph/Thalurania furcata

Nombre en español: Ninfa Morada

Nombre en inglés: Fork-tailed Woodnymph

Nombre científico: Thalurania furcata

Familia: Trochilidae

Canto: Andrew Spencer

El zafiro golondrina (Thalurania furcata), también denominado picaflor zafiro (Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay), colibrí hada de alas azules, ninfa morada (Colombia), ninfa mexicana (México) o tucusito morado (Venezuela), es una especie de ave apodiforme perteneciente al género Thalurania que integra la familia Trochilidae, denominados colibrís.

Esta especie de colibrí es de tamaño mediano. Sus colores van desde los verdes broncíneos, verde iridiscente, pasando por el verde brillante, grises y blancos y negro-azul. Se lo encuentra en la Cordillera de Los Andes, en Las Guayanas, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia y Paraguay.

Descripción

El macho mide entre 9,5 y 10,5 cm y la hembra 8 cm. El macho tiene la garganta verde iridiscente, el abdomen y una banda en la espalda color violeta. El vientre de la hembra es gris pálido; tiene puntas blancas en las tres plumas que sobresalen de la cola. Pico un tanto curvo; partes superiores verde vivo; cabeza verde, corona negruzca en el macho. En la hembra la corona es cobrizo bronceada. Cola larga (pero menos que en otras Thaluranias) y bifurcada azul negruzca. En la hembra la cola es más corta y menos bifurcada.

Distribución y Hábitat

Vive al este de los Andes, siendo nativo de Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guayana Francesa, Guyana, Paraguay, Perú, Surinam, Trinidad y Tobago, y Venezuela.

Habita bosques húmedos subtropicales, bosques húmedos tropicales, tierras bajas, bosques montañosos tropicales y subtropicales, y bosques deteriorados.

Hasta los 1800m (Pico Renjifo, Sierra de la Macarena). La mayoría de registros por debajo de los 1200m. Al este de Los Andes desde el extremo este de Cundinamarca, al noreste del Meta y el Río Orinoco (registros en Venezuela) hacia el sur de las Guayanas y al sur y el este de Venezuela hasta el este de Bolivia, y al noreste de Argentina y Paraguay.

Comportamiento

Canta poco, una serie de notas “chip” débiles.

Alimentación

Solitario, visita flores a baja altura, pero puede subir hasta el estrato medio del bosque (generalmente el macho). Fue observado en el sureste de Pará, Brasil, alimentándose en el borde de bosques secundarios em flores de Helicteres ovata, junto a ejemplares de la especie esmeralda gorgiazul (Chlorostilbon notatus).

Reproducción

Como las otras especies del género, construye un nido en forma de taza.

Sistemática

Descripción original

La especie T. furcata fue descrita por primera vez por el naturalista alemán Johann Friedrich Gmelin en 1788 bajo el nombre científico Trochilus furcatus; localidad tipo «Cayenne».

Taxonomía

Forma una superespecie con Thalurania ridgwayi, Thalurania colombica y Thalurania fannyi; los límites entre las especies permanecen poco claros y las cuatro han sido consideradas conespecíficas. Alternativamente, la mayoría de las formas con corona más apagada y dorso más verde son algunas veces separadas en la presente especie desde el grupo de las otras tres como especies con corona brillante y más violeta en el dorso. La mayoría de las subespecies actualmente reconocidas están basadas en variaciones de la coloración del macho adulto, y varias son dudosamente válidas. Las razas baeri y eriphile, con frente verde brillante, en el pasado fueron separadas como T. eriphile, pero esta última cruza con las razas de corona apagada adyacentes en Brasil, indicando fallas potenciales en atribuirle importancia taxonómica a este hecho. La raza jelskii representa zona de cruzamiento de viridipectus, simoni y boliviana; furcatoides cruza con balzani y baeri donde las zonas de distribución se superponen en el centro y centro norte de Brasil. “Thalurania lerchi”, conocida por pieles en Bogotá, es, aparentemente, un híbrido de la presente especie con Chrysuronia oenone; “Eucephala scapulata”, conocida por un único ejemplar en la Guayana Francesa, es, probablemte, un híbrido de la presente especie con Chlorostilbon notatus. La raza propuesta taczanowskii (noreste de Perú) no es separable de viridipectus con credibilidad.

Subespecies

Según Clements 6.8 se reconocen 12 subespecies, con su correspondiente distribución geográfica:

Thalurania furcata baeri (Hellmayr, 1907) – noreste y centro de Brasil al sureste de Bolivia y noroeste y centro norte de Argentina.
Thalurania furcata balzani (Simon, 1896) – centro norte de Brasil, al sur del Amazonas.
Thalurania furcata boliviana (Boucard, 1894) – laderas de los Andes y tierras bajas adyacentes del sureste de Perú y noreste de Bolivia.
Thalurania furcata eriphile (Lesson, 1832) – sureste de Brasil, adyacencias de Paraguay y noreste de Argentina (Misiones).
Thalurania furcata fissilis (Berlepsch & Hartert, 1902) – este de Venezuela y extremo oeste adyacente de Guyana y noreste de Brasil.
Thalurania furcata furcata (Gmelin, 1788) – extremo este de Venezuela, las Guayanas y noreste de Brasil (norte del Amazonas).
Thalurania furcata furcatoides (Gould, 1861) – región al sur del bajo Amazonas al este de Brasil.
Thalurania furcata jelskii (Taczanowski, 1874) – mayor parte del este de Perú y adyacencias de Brasil.
Thalurania furcata nigrofasciata (Gould, 1846) – sureste de Colombia, noroeste de Brasil (alto Río Negro) y extremo sur de Venezuela.
Thalurania furcata refulgens (Gould, 1853) – noreste de Venezuela.
Thalurania furcata simoni (Hellmayr, 1906) – región al sur del alto Amazonas en el extremo este de Perú y oeste de Brasil.
Thalurania furcata viridipectus (Gould, 1848) – laderas al este de los Andes y tierras bajas adyacentes del este de Colombia, este de Ecuador y noreste de Perú.

Según otras clasificaciones son 13 las subespecies, incluyendo:

Thalurania furcata orenocensis (Hellmayr, 1921) – región del alto Orinoco al sur de Venezuela.

Fork-tailed woodnymph

The fork-tailed woodnymph (Thalurania furcata) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.

These solitary hummingbirds spend their time in humid forests, tall second growth, shaded plantations, or in gardens. They usually forage at low flowers, especially from plants in the Rubiaceae genus. While males sometimes defend patches of flowers and act aggressively, females tend to be less territorial and either trapline or steal nectar from the floral territories of other hummingbirds. Males are notably dark in color and have forked tails. Females are light gray below and are similar to Gray-breasted Sabrewings (Campylopterus largipennis), but are smaller and lack white corners on the tail.

Identification

Male 9·5–12·9 cm, 3·6–6 g; female 8–10·7 cm, 3–5 g. Straight medium-sized bill black. Male mostly dark bronzy-green above with crown and nape dark dusky-bronze; throat is glittering green, the belly and a band across the upper back violet; tail blue-black and forked, undertail-coverts dark steely blue edged broadly with dull white. Female bright green above, duller and more bronze on the crown, and pale grey below; the distal part of the tail is steely blue-black, the outer three rectrices white-tipped. Juvenile male nearly uniform dusky bronze-green below and dull bronze-green above; juvenile female averages more bronzy-green above than adults and usually shows some pale buffy fringes on face, nape and rump feathers. Race fissilis differs mainly in longer bill and (male) solid blue undertail-coverts; in nigrofasciata and verticeps band of violet across upper back interrupted medially, and green of throat more extensive and separated from violet belly by a band of black, usually broader in the former; nigrofasciata is more golden green, verticeps more bluish-green above; viridipectus has green of gorget extending onto breast, bordered narrowly below with black; jelskii has lower throat and breast more or less tinged with blue and black band usually interrupted, basically representing an intergradation towards boliviana , in which green is restricted to gorget and black reduced to lateral patches or lacking; furcatoides differs from nominate mainly in larger size and more blackish crown; balzani has crown green, undertail-coverts usually pure white; simoni represents a zone of intergradation between balzani and jelskii–boliviana, being most like former but with dark central stripe on vent and undertail-coverts; baeri and eriphile have glittering green frontlets contrasting with blackish crowns, the former intergrading with the adjacent furcatoides and balzani where their ranges meet. Racial variation in females involves darkness of grey underparts, with some variation in lateral green scaling, colour and pattern of undertail-coverts, colour of crown and shade of green above, in general paralleling variations in their respective males.

Systematics History

Closely related to T. ridgwayi and T. colombica; species limits unclear, and all three have been considered conspecific. Alternatively, mostly dull-crowned and more green-backed forms are sometimes separated in present species from the other two, which are then lumped as another species with glittering crown and more violet on back. Of races currently recognized, most are based on variations in coloration of adult male, and several doubtfully valid. Races baeri and eriphile, with glittering green frontlet, were in the past separated as T. eriphile, but former intergrades with adjacent dull-crowned races in Brazil, indicating potential pitfalls of attributing taxonomic significance to this feature. Race jelskii represents zone of intergradation of viridipectus, simoni and boliviana; furcatoides intergrades with balzani and baeri where their ranges meet in NC & C Brazil. Described form Thalurania lerchi, known from Bogotá trade skins, is apparently a hybrid between present species and Chrysuronia oenone; form Eucephala scapulata, known from single specimen from French Guiana, is probably a hybrid of present species with Chlorostilbon notatus. Name tschudii should perhaps replace jelskii; if so, jelskii may be correct name for current race boliviana. Proposed race taczanowskii (NE Peru) not reliably separable from viridipectus. Thirteen subspecies currently recognized.

Habitat

Humid forest (both terra firme forest and várzea in Amazonia, where shows a notable preference for light gaps) and forest edge, taller second growth and semi-open, shaded plantations and gardens; possibly in more scrubby habitats in some parts of range but more detailed information lacking.

Movement

Veyr few data available; presumably more or less sedentary except for local movements following shifts in flowering, with for example, recent observations in Tarija (Bolivia) indicating that the species is uncommon in the dry season but very common during the wet season; populations in Andean foothills may move altitudinally.

Diet and Foraging

Visits flowers of epiphytes (bromeliads, ericads), vines (Mucuna, Gurania), lianas (Combretum), trees (Inga, Erythrina, Genipa, Tachigali, Quararibea, Syzigium), shrubs (especially Rubiaceae, Acanthaceae) and large herbs (Heliconia, Costus) in forest and edge habitats in E Colombia, and observed taking nectar by laterally piercing the flowers of a cactus, Stetsonia coryne, in Bolivia (5); also obtains arthropods by flycatching and, less often, foliage-gleaning. Small flies (Diptera) and wasps (Hymenoptera) important in diet with smaller numbers of ants, other insects and spiders. Defends territories around flowers, both interspecifically (against other species of hummingbirds, e.g. Phaetornis pretei) and especially intraspecifically (with female individuals being frequently chased by males), but some degree of resource partitioning has been observed between T. furcata, Anthracothorax nigricollis (which was otherwise dominant), Polytmus guainumbi and Phaethornis pretrei, at certain flowers, e.g. Calliandra surinamensis (Mimosaceae). Within dense forest environments, T. furcata utilizes all strata in which to forage.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song an incessant series of high-pitched bisyllabic, thin wiry notes “see-tseet…see-tseet….see-tseet…” (E Ecuador and Peru) or repeated variable series of 3–7 insect-like pulsing notes “tsee-see-see….tsee-see-see-see-see…tsee-see-see…” (E Venezuela). Also a monotonously repeated single chip when perched and short dry chips, often given in rapid succession as dry trill or chatter, in flight.

Breeding

Birds in breeding condition recorded Apr–Oct in foothills of E Andes, Aug–Oct along the Amazon in E Colombia (viridipectus) and active nests in Jul–Sept in E Ecuador (also viridipectus). Season considered to Dec–Mar in N Brazil (nominate furcata and nigrofasciata), Oct–Feb in EC Brazil (baeri) and Nov–Mar in SE Brazil. Nest only recently described, from observations in E Ecuador: tiny cup sited 1·5–2·5 m above ground (once over water, another time on an epiphytic fern), on downsloping horizontal branches and constructed almost entirely of seed down of at least two types, one pale (mainly inside), the other pale brown (principally on outside), bound together and to support branch with spider webs (additional such material is constantly added through the incubation period, at least), with a few pieces of lichen pasted on outside wall; two nests measured 40–41 mm wide outside and up to 46 mm tall, with inner cup 19–23 mm wide by 18–20 mm deep. One of the two Ecuadorian nests was placed in a 4-m tall Solanaceae tree, 10 cm below a small social spider (Anelosimus eximus) colony. Clutch two pure white eggs , size 12·9–15 mm × 8·6–10 mm, mass 0·5–0·58 g. Incubation period c. 15 days, fledging period 22–25 days (C & SE Brazil). At one of the Ecuadorian nests, the incubating female successfully resisted an invasion of Dolichoderus ants, which were flicked off the nest using the bill.

Conservation Status

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Only recently recorded in Tarija (Bolivia). Common over most of its extremely wide range but populations in some areas are or may soon be threatened by deforestation, especially in parts of Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay. In Brazil, occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Brasília National Park.