Spangled Coquette
Lophornis stictolophus
Tiny, short-tailed hummingbird with disjunct range from Venezuela to southeast Ecuador. Spectacular male is mostly green with a bushy orange crest with black spots, a dark throat, a red bill, and a white band across rump. Female is duller overall with a rusty forehead and a whitish throat. Unlikely to be confused within its range, but compare with Rufous-crested Coquette (male lacks black spotting in crest and female has a brighter rusty throat). Generally rare in lowlands and foothills up to around 1,200 m. Most likely to be seen at purple Verbena flowers or in the canopy of a flowering Inga tree.
Identification
The spangled coquette is 6.4 to 6.9 cm (2.5 to 2.7 in) long. Both sexes have a short, straight, red bill with a black tip and bronzy green upperparts with a white band across the rump. Their lower rump and uppertail coverts are purplish bronze. Adult males have a short, bushy, rufous crest with black tips on the feathers, and short rufous and iridescent green cheek tufts. Its throat is iridescent green with a few white-tipped feathers and the rest of the underparts bronzy green. Its central tail feathers are green and the rest cinnamon-rufous with black tips. The adult female does not have the male's crest or cheek tufts. It has a whitish throat with large rufous spots. It underparts are cinnamon, often with green spots. The central tail feathers are green and the rest are cinnamon with black bars near the end and buff tips. Juveniles are similar to the adult female but have a grayish throat.
Taxonomy
The spangled coquette is believed to be most closely related to the short-crested coquette (L. brachylophus) and rufous-crested coquette (L. delattrei). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Lophornis stictolophus
- Authority
- Salvin & Elliot, DG, 1873
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lophornis
Range and habitat
According to the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and Clements taxonomy, the spangled coquette is found from western Venezuela south through eastern Colombia and Ecuador into northern Peru. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) places it in Brazil as well. It inhabits the edges and clearings of humid forest, cerrado, and drier scrubby landscapes. In elevation it is found as high as 1,300 m (4,300 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot
Loriculus stigmatus
A small, brilliant green parrot with a red throat, tail, rump, and shoulder patch, a yellowish wash to the mantle, and a blackish bill. Males are pale-eyed with a red forehead that is lacking in females. Throat and shoulder are yellowish in juveniles. Found singly or in pairs at upper levels of wooded areas and forest in the lowlands and hills. Differs from the smaller Pygmy Hanging-Parrot in its dark bill, yellow back patch, and red forehead (in males). Vocal; calls include high-pitched “seet” and “sit” notes, either singly or in a series.
Purple-crested Turaco
Gallirex porphyreolophus
A bulky, iridescent bird clad in deep purple, blue, green, and olive washed with pink. It clambers acrobatically through riverine woodland and savanna thickets. In flight it explodes from the canopy with distinctive deep red panels in the wings. It produces a distinctive croaking “khoh-khoh-khoh-khoh….” that gets progressively louder before suddenly stopping. The similar Ross’s Turaco differs from Purple-crested Turaco by being darker overall and having a red crest and yellow face.
Yucatan Woodpecker
Melanerpes pygmaeus
Like a small version of Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Found in woodland, beach scrub, semi-open wooded habitats; usually less numerous than Golden-fronted. Yucatan populations of Golden-fronted Woodpecker very similar in plumage, but Yucatan Woodpecker has a much shorter bill, ‘egg-yolk’ yellow feathering around the bill base (vs. reddish on local Golden-fronteds), and relatively wider white barring on back (looks silvery at a distance, vs. blackish overall on Golden-fronted). Voice is quite different from Golden-fronted.
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