Violet-crowned Woodnymph
Encyclopedia
The Violet-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica), also known as the Purple-crowned Woodnymph, is a medium-sized hummingbird
found from Guatemala
and Belize
to northern Colombia
and western Venezuela
. It formerly included the Mexican
and Green-crowned Woodnymph
s as subspecies
. Alternatively, all have been considered subspecies of the Fork-tailed Woodnymph
.
The Violet-crowned Woodnymph is a common to abundant bird of wet lowlands and foothills to 2500 m, and may move higher when not breeding. The female Violet-crowned Woodnymph is entirely responsible for nest building and incubation. She lays two white eggs in a plant-fibre cup nest 1-5 m high on a horizontal branch. Incubation takes 15-19 days, and fledging another 20-26.
The adult male Violet-crowned Woodnymph is 10.2 cm long and weighs 4.5 g. It has a violet crown, upper back, shoulders and belly, a shiny green throat and breast, green lower back, and a deeply forked blue-black tail. The female is 8.4-9 cm long and weighs 3.5 g. She is bright green above and duller green below, with a grey throat and breast. Her tail is rounded, mainly green near the body but with a blue-black lower half and white corners. Young males lack any violet or iridescence and are bronze-coloured below. Immature females have buff fringes on the feathers of the nape, face and rump. The call is a high-pitched fast kip.
The food of this species is nectar, taken from a variety of flowers. Males feed in the canopy, where their food plants include epiphytic
Ericaceae
and bromeliads, and defend flowers and scrubs in their feeding territories. Females stay in the understory. After breeding, both sexes may concentrate at Heliconia
s. Like other hummingbirds, Violet-crowned Woodnymph also takes small insect
s and spider
s as an essential source of protein.
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...
found from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
to northern 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...
and western Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It formerly included the Mexican
Mexican Woodnymph
The Mexican Woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family and is endemic to western Mexico.Its habitats include subtropical or tropical moist lowland/foothill forests and plantations .It is threatened by habitat loss...
and Green-crowned Woodnymph
Green-crowned Woodnymph
The Green-crowned Woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is found in humid forest and tall second growth from eastern Panama, south through western Colombia and Ecuador, to far north-western Peru...
s as 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...
. Alternatively, all have been considered subspecies of the Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Fork-tailed Woodnymph
The Fork-tailed Woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela....
.
The Violet-crowned Woodnymph is a common to abundant bird of wet lowlands and foothills to 2500 m, and may move higher when not breeding. The female Violet-crowned Woodnymph is entirely responsible for nest building and incubation. She lays two white eggs in a plant-fibre cup nest 1-5 m high on a horizontal branch. Incubation takes 15-19 days, and fledging another 20-26.
The adult male Violet-crowned Woodnymph is 10.2 cm long and weighs 4.5 g. It has a violet crown, upper back, shoulders and belly, a shiny green throat and breast, green lower back, and a deeply forked blue-black tail. The female is 8.4-9 cm long and weighs 3.5 g. She is bright green above and duller green below, with a grey throat and breast. Her tail is rounded, mainly green near the body but with a blue-black lower half and white corners. Young males lack any violet or iridescence and are bronze-coloured below. Immature females have buff fringes on the feathers of the nape, face and rump. The call is a high-pitched fast kip.
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
Ericaceae
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
and bromeliads, and defend flowers and scrubs in their feeding territories. Females stay in the understory. After breeding, both sexes may concentrate at 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...
s. Like other hummingbirds, Violet-crowned Woodnymph also takes small 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 and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s as an essential source of protein.
External links
- Article w/RangeMaps Infonatura NatureServe