Purple-crowned Fairy
Encyclopedia
The Purple-crowned Fairy (Heliothryx barroti) is a large hummingbird
that breeds in the lowlands and hills from southeastern Mexico
south to southwestern Ecuador
.
Its breeding habitat is forest canopy and edges at altitudes up to 1675m, and this bird
can also be found in tall second growth and shady gardens . The female lays two white eggs in a small conical cup nest, which is made of plant down and sited near the tip of a thin branch.
The Purple-crowned Fairy is 11.5 cm long and weighs 6.5 g. It is slender and has bright white underparts, a green back, and a long pointed tail which has black central and white outer feathers. There is a dark patch through the eye, and the bill is sharply pointed. The male has a purple crown and a purple spot at the end of the eyepatch, which is bordered below with a glittering green malar stripe. The song is a vigorous repetition of the high thin tsit call.
The female lacks the purple and glittering green colours on the head, and the immature bird has rufous fringes to its upperpart plumage and a dusky throat.
The Purple-crowned Fairy has a very light and graceful flight. It eats insect
s, picked off the foliage or caught in flight, and takes nectar from flowers, piercing the bases of larger blooms such as Heliconia
. Although not particularly territorial, this species is quite aggressive, and will resist the attacks of territorial species.
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...
that breeds in the lowlands and hills from southeastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
south to southwestern 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...
.
Its breeding habitat is forest canopy and edges at altitudes up to 1675m, and this bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
can also be found in tall second growth and shady gardens . The female lays two white eggs in a small conical cup nest, which is made of plant down and sited near the tip of a thin branch.
The Purple-crowned Fairy is 11.5 cm long and weighs 6.5 g. It is slender and has bright white underparts, a green back, and a long pointed tail which has black central and white outer feathers. There is a dark patch through the eye, and the bill is sharply pointed. The male has a purple crown and a purple spot at the end of the eyepatch, which is bordered below with a glittering green malar stripe. The song is a vigorous repetition of the high thin tsit call.
The female lacks the purple and glittering green colours on the head, and the immature bird has rufous fringes to its upperpart plumage and a dusky throat.
The Purple-crowned Fairy has a very light and graceful flight. It eats insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, picked off the foliage or caught in flight, and takes nectar from flowers, piercing the bases of larger blooms such as Heliconia
Heliconia
Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions...
. Although not particularly territorial, this species is quite aggressive, and will resist the attacks of territorial species.
External links
- Article w/RangeMaps InfoNatura NatureServe
- Purple-crowned Fairy videos at the Internet Bird Collection
- Photo; Article fireflyforest.net Photo-2
- Photo-feeding; Article jrscience.wco.muchio.edu
