Purple-crowned Plovercrest
Stephanoxis loddigesii
Medium-sized charismatic hummingbird with an iridescent green body and short, straight bill. Males have a violet-blue crest and are violet below with light gray flanks. Females have a less prominent crest, lack the violet belly seen on males, and have a prominent white spot behind the eye. Resembles Green-crowned Plovercrest, but males have a purple (not green) crest and has less extensive violet below. Female Purple-crowned Plovercrests have slightly larger white tips to the outer tail feathers than Green-crowned Plovercrest. Inhabits the understory of lowland and montane forests, light woodland and riparian forests.
Identification
The purple-crowned plovercrest is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Males weigh about 3.7 g (0.13 oz). Both sexes have a shortish, straight, black bill. Adult males have a shaggy violet-blue crest. Their face, chin, and throat are brownish with a white spot behind the eye. Their upperparts yellowish green. Their lower throat to upper belly is blackish violet-blue and the rest of the underparts are gray. Their central two pairs of tail feathers are green and the rest green with a blackish band near the end and whitish tips. Adult females and juveniles have a much smaller crest. Their upperparts are also yellowish green and their underparts gray.
Taxonomy
The purple-crowned plovercrest and green-crowned plovercrest (Stephanoxis lalandi) were originally treated as separate species but in the mid-1900s were combined under the name "plovercrest" with the binomial S. lalandi. A study published in 2014 provided evidence that the original two-species treatment was correct. Taxonomists worldwide agreed and the two taxa were restored to species status. They are the only members of the genus and are monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Stephanoxis loddigesii
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1831)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Stephanoxis
Range and habitat
The purple-crowned plovercrest is found in eastern Paraguay, far northeastern Argentina, and southern Brazil as far north as southern São Paulo state. It inhabits the understory of forest, scrublands, and vegetation along watercourses. In elevation it ranges between sea level and about 900 m (3,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The purple-crowned plovercrest is mostly sedentary but in the southernmost part of its range some individuals move to lower elevations in winter.<p>The purple-crowned plovercrest forages for nectar from near the ground to the canopy, utilizing both native and introduced flowering species. Males defend feeding territories duing the breeding season. In addition to nectar, the species feeds on insects caught in flight or gleaned from leaves.<p>The purple-crowned plovercrest's breeding season spans from October to March in Brazil. Males usually gather at leks to court females, but single birds also display. Females make a cup nest of soft plant and seed fibers bound with spiderweb and with lichens on the outside. It is typically placed on a forked branch in vegetation at about 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) above the ground. Females incubate the clutch of two eggs for 14 to 16 days; the time to fledging has not been documented.<p>Males sing "a complex, modulated vocalization" at leks and when chasing other plovercrests.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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