Gilded Hummingbird
Hylocharis chrysura
Medium-sized hummingbird with a long, straight bill which is red with a black tip. Deceptively dull-looking, but in the right light has a golden-green back and breast and a bronze tail. Both sexes are similar. Found at forest edges, in light woodlands, plantations, and at feeders.
Identification
The gilded sapphire is 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 4 to 5 g (0.14 to 0.18 oz). Both sexes have a medium length, straight, coral red bill with a black tip. Adult males are mostly iridescent golden-green, with a pale rufous chin and a glittering golden-bronze tail. Adult females are almost the same, but duller overall and with a grayish lower belly. Juveniles are like the adult female with buff fringes on the feathers of the head.
Taxonomy
The names of this species, both English and scientific, have not been settled. The International Ornithological Committee calls it the gilded sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura). The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy call it the gilded hummingbird, also with the binomial H. chrysura. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World also calls it the gilded hummingbird but with the binomial Amazilia chrysura. The first three systems agree that it shares genus Hylocharis with the rufous-throated sapphire (H. sapphirina). All four agree that it is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Hylocharis chrysura
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1812)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Hylocharis
Range and habitat
The gilded sapphire is found in northeastern to south central Bolivia, essentially all of Paraguay and Uruguay, central and southeastern Brazil, and northern Argentina. It inhabits open landscapes such as savannah with scattered trees, the edges and clearings of forests, plantations, and gardens. It is most numerous at elevations between 400 and 800 m (1,300 and 2,600 ft). It is regularly found down to 200 m (660 ft) and up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and locally even higher.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The gilded sapphire appears to be generally sedentary, but it is migratory in parts of Brazil and adjacent Boliva. Its movements elsewhere, if any, are poorly understood.<p>The gilded sapphire forages for nectar at a wide variety of native and introduced plants, shrubs, and trees. It seeks nectar at all levels of its habitat. In addition to nectar the species feeds on insects caught by hawking from a perch and also gleans spiders from webs.<p>The gilded sapphire's breeding season in Brazil spans from September to February but has not been defined elsewhere. It builds a cup nest of plant seed fibers and cobweb with lichen and bits of leaf on the outside. It typically places it somewhat exposed on a thin horizontal branch or in a fork about 4 to 6 m (10 to 20 ft) above the ground, but occasionally as high as 10 m (30 ft). The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 14 to 15 days and fledging occurs 20 to 28 days after hatch.<p>The gilded sapphire's song is "a repeated high-pitched, cricket-like trill of variable length". Its call is "a short dry rattle 'trrrt'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Pale and stocky-looking pheasant of hill forests with dense undergrowth; generally scarce due to poaching throughout its range. Male is unmistakable: mostly brown above with a white belly, silvery head, bright red face, and a long pale gray tail with thick russet bands. Female is smaller and shorter-tailed with a faded version of the male’s patterning. Can be quite tame in areas where are protected and fed by rural communities.
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Rhinopomastus aterrimus
This all-black bird has a long, slim bill, and a fairly long tail. In flight, white bars across the wings are revealed. Birds in the eastern part of the range also have white in the outer tail, while the western birds have all-black tails. Found in a variety of savanna habitats. The call is a series of fluted, rising “wheet” notes; similar to Common Scimitarbill, but higher-pitched. Also similar in appearance to Common Scimitarbill, but there is little overlap in range, and Black is separated by its straighter bill and slightly shorter and less pointed tail. Separated from woodhoopoes by its shorter, less floppy, and squarer tail.
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Unobtrusive, poorly-known tinamou. Mostly rusty-colored with a scaly back and wings. Females are more boldly marked on the back and wings than males. Found at the edge of dense forests and especially in white sand forests. The song is a rather short double whistle: “whoo-whoooooooo.” The similar Variegated Tinamou has a grayish head and more barring on the back.
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