Introduction

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant, (Heliodoxa rubinoides), is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

. It is found in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n countries such as Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, and Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and lives in tropical climates. It has a light brown chest, a dark green back, a white spot behind the eye, and a red spot on the throat. The diet of the Fawn-breasted Brilliant consists mainly of nectar but can also include small insects.

Taxonomy

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant belongs to the order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Apodiformes

Apodiformes

Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...

, along with other hummingbirds, swifts, and tree swifts. The order is characterized by the birds’ small, bare legs used for perch

Perch (equilibristic)

The perch is an equilibristic balancing act where one performer balances atop a pole that is being balanced by another performer. Each perch pole has a loop at the top into which the performer may insert either a hand or a foot in order to perform a variety of tricks while hanging down from the loop...

ing, long wings, and short, stout humerus

Humerus

The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....

 wing bones.

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant belongs to the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Trochilidae, which includes all hummingbirds. The Trochilidae family includes some of the smallest birds in existence, which can range from 7.5-13 cm. in length. They can fly over 15 m/s and flap their wings from 12-90 times per second.

Subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of the Fawn-breasted Brilliant include:

• Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis (Columbia and Ecuador near the western slope of the Andes Mountains)
• Heliodoxa rubinoides cervinigularis (Ecuador and Peru near the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains)
• Heliodoxa rubinoides rubinoides (Columbia near the central and eastern sides of the Andes Mountains)

Description

Physical

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant has a small body with a long forked tail and a long beak

Beak

The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...

 with a slight curve at the end. The head is a deep green which eventually fades into a light brown on the stomach and underneath the tail. There is a white spot behind the eye and sometimes there is a reddish patch on the throat. The Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis has more distinctively coppery bronze greater wing coverts and is smaller in size than the Heliodoxa rubinoides cervinigularis and the Heliodoxa rubinoides rubinoides. The Heliodoxa rubinoides cervinigularis has more distinctively bronzy green greater wing coverts than the Heliodoxa rubinoides aequatorialis and the Heliodoxa rubinoides rubinoides.

Vocalizations

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant makes two different vocalizations

Animal communication

Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. The study of animal communication, is sometimes called Zoosemiotics has played an important part in the...

. The first is a series of “tchik” notes, and the second is a common call using the sound “swi-swi-swi-swu.”

Distribution and Habitat

The Fawn-breasted Brilliant is found on the western side of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, in Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is especially found near the Andes Mountains, and the different slopes determine which subspecies of the Heliodoxa rubinoides will be found. It is fairly common in its range and is of least concern in conservation status

Conservation status

The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group is still extant and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future...

.

The habitat that the Fawn-breasted Brilliant prefers is a warm, tropical climate in an area with forest or dense tree coverage that contains plenty of flowers. They can live in busy places such as cities, but quiet areas away from human habitation are best. Fawn-breasted Brilliants are found at elevations of 1100-2100 m.

Diet

The diet

Diet (nutrition)

In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...

 of Fawn-breasted Brilliants mainly consists of nectar from highly scented, bright flowers. They prefer flowers with the highest content of sugar in their nectar, and will become protective of areas they are fond of. They extend their tongues and lick nectar about 13 times per second. They can also get sugar water from feeders. Fawn-Breasted Brilliants forage

Forage

Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...

 at low or middle levels and can also eat small spiders or insects. They catch the insects mid-flight or by picking them off branches or webs.

Breeding

No information was found on when Fawn-breasted Brilliants become sexually mature. They are polygamous birds and only become social around each other when they breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

. The male will court a female by displaying a “u”-shaped flight pattern in front of the female. When they have copulated, the male separates and leaves. Nest

Nest

A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...

s are normally built in shrubs, bushes, or trees and are built in a cup shape using plant fibers for structure and moss for camouflage. On the inside, the nest is lined with soft and elastic material to allow expansion when the chicks grow. Females normally produce two white eggs and the eggs will be incubated

Avian incubation

Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...

 for 12 days. The young are brooded for only 1-2 weeks and leave the nest at 20 days.

External Links

• “Hummingbird,” Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochilidae
• Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20l?id=GBIF66578398
• “Heliodoxa rubinoides,” Bourcier& Mulsant, Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt
• “Hummingbird,” Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://www.conservapedia.com/Hummingbird
• “Apodiformes,” Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apodiformes
• “Fawn-breasted Brilliant Hummingbirds,” Sibylle F. Johnson, Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://www.avianweb.com/fawnbreastedbrillianthummingbirds.html
• “Hummingbird Habitats,” Last accessed 24 May 2011 http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/habitat.php
• “Map of Heliodoxa rubinoides,” Larry Thompson, Last accessed 25 May 2011 http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?kind=Heliodoxa+rubinoides