Ecuadorian Piedtail
Phlogophilus hemileucurus
Fairly small hummingbird with a limited range in the foothills on the east slope of the Andes from southern Colombia to northern Peru. The broad white collar and extensive white in the tail are the most obvious field marks, otherwise it is green above and white below with a straight bill. Occasionally visits feeders, but is more likely to be found in the understory of forests in the foothills from around 900 to 1,300 m. Compare with female Booted Racket-tail and Rufous-vented Whitetip.
Identification
The Ecuadorian piedtail is 7.3 to 7.6 cm (2.9 to 3.0 in) long and weighs 2.2 to 3.7 g (0.078 to 0.13 oz). The adult male and female are alike. They have a short, straight, black bill with a yellowish base. Their crown is greenish brown and the rest of the upperparts grass green. They have a white spot behind the eye. The throat and breast are white with green spots with a white band separating them. The belly is whitish. The innermost pair of tail feathers are blue-green; the others are blue with white bases and broad white tips. Juveniles resemble the adults but their head and neck feathers have buff fringes.
Taxonomy
The Ecuadorian piedtail shares its genus with the Peruvian piedtail (P. harterti). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Phlogophilus hemileucurus
- Authority
- Gould, 1860
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Phlogophilus
Range and habitat
The Ecuadorian piedtail is found in the eastern foothills of the Andes from Colombia's Putumayo and Cauca departments south through eastern Ecuador into northeastern Peru's departments of San Martín and Loreto. It inhabits primary forest edges and secondary forest at elevations between 500 and 1,200 m (1,600 and 3,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Freckled Duck
Stictonetta naevosa
Very finely-speckled dark-grayish duck with a dark eye and an obvious peaked crown. Beak is strongly curved like a ski-jump. Breeding males have a red base to their bill. Upper-wing is dark, while under-wing is paler gray. When perched, distinguish from Hardhead (which have a pale belly patch). Generally uncommon; found beside inland waterholes and ponds. More reliable inland, but can be common one year and absent the next from any given location.
Black-headed Lapwing
Vanellus tectus
An attractive lapwing with a black-and-white head, a brown back, and pale underparts. There is a thin black crest and a black line down the center of the breast. In flight, reveals broad white bands across the wings. Found in dry savanna habitats. Mostly active at night, early in the morning, and late in the day. Often in pairs or small groups. Not easily confused with other lapwings. The call is a strident, wooden, repeated “krep.”
Townsend's Shearwater
Puffinus auricularis
Endangered, small black-and-white shearwater, endemic to Mexico. Found around Socorro Island mainly from November to May, and rarely offshore between Jalisco and Oaxaca. It is usually found with feeding flocks of other shearwaters, boobies, and terns. Flight is fast and strong, wheeling fairly high in strong winds. Blackish above and white below with blackish undertail coverts, fairly long tail, and white patches or saddlebags that wrap up around the base of the tail. Similar species: Black-vented Shearwater is dark brownish above without the strong black cap of Townsend’s.
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