Green-tailed Trainbearer
Lesbia nuna
Small hummingbird with a very long tail. Bright green overall with a very short, straight bill. The male’s long tail is striking. Sexes similar but females are more spotted below and have a shorter tail. Compare with very similar Black-tailed Trainbearer; Green-tailed has a shorter, straighter bill, a shorter, straighter tail, and is brighter emerald-green. Occurs from Colombia to Peru, from around 1,900 to 3,000 m. Typically found at the edge of forests or shrubby woodlands, but also in drier and more open areas. Occasionally visits feeders, but more often seen feeding at flowering shrubs.
Identification
The male green-tailed trainbearer is 15.3 to 17 cm (6.0 to 6.7 in) long including the 10.6 to 13.6 cm (4.2 to 5.4 in) long tail. Females are about 11.6 cm (4.6 in) long including their 4.5 to 6.2 cm (1.8 to 2.4 in) long tail. The species weighs 3.1 to 4.3 g (0.11 to 0.15 oz). It has a short, straight, black bill. Males of the nominate subspecies are almost entirely glittering emerald green; the throat is iridescent emerald green and the lower belly grayish with green dots. Its tail is long, forked, and black with green tips to the feathers. The nominate female is similar but has white underparts with glittering green spots and a shorter tail. Juveniles are similar to the adult female but the male in addition has green spots on the throat.<p>Males of subspecies L. n. gouldii are similar to the nominate but smaller, with a shorter bill and more green on the tail. L. n. gracilis is also similar to the nominate but has a shorter and thicker bill and buffy undertail coverts with green spots. L. n. pallidiventris has a longer bill than the two subspecies above and has paler and less blue-green upperparts than the nominate. L. n. huallagae has a longer bill than pallidiventris that is still shorter than the nominate's; its plumage is somewhat bronzy green and the belly is paler than the nominate's. L. n. aureliae's plumage is rich golden bronze and it has a creamy buff belly.
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the green-tailed trainbearer is not settled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these six subspecies:<p>The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) recognize a seventh, L. n. boliviana (Boucard, 1892) that the IOC treats as a synonym of the nominate subspecies.<p>Though the green-tailed trainbearer shares its genus with the black-tailed trainbearer (L. victoriae), they might not be especially closely related. All of the subspecies except the nominate (and boliviana) have at various times been suggested as separate species. Two additional subspecies have been proposed as well, but the weight of evidence is that they are hybrids of the two trainbearers.
- Scientific name
- Lesbia nuna
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1832)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lesbia
Range and habitat
The six subspecies recognized by the IOC are found thus:<p>L. n. boliviana, when treated separately from nuna, is found in Boliva from La Paz Department to Cochabamba Department.<p>An old record of L. n. gouldii from Venezuela has been questioned on several grounds and the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society does not include that country in the species' range. The IOC includes Venezuela with a question mark and the Clements taxonomy notes the one old record.<p>The green-tailed trainbearer mostly inhabits secondary woodland and brushy slopes but also occurs in Polylepis woodland and páramo. In elevation it ranges from 1,700 to 3,800 m (5,600 to 12,500 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The green-tailed trainbearer's movements have not been defined, but elevational changes after the breeding and flowering season are likely.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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