Shining Sunbeam
Aglaeactis cupripennis
Large, dark-brown hummingbird with lilac-gold iridescent lower back and rump. Like other sunbeams, it has a proportionally short bill for a hummingbird. Inhabits high elevation, semi-arid montane ridges and cloud forests. You are my sunbeam, my Shining Sunbeam / You make me happy when you display / Aglaeactis cupripennis / Please don’t take my sunbeam away.
Identification
The shining sunbeam is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh 7.6 to 8.1 g (0.27 to 0.29 oz) and females 6.9 to 7.5 g (0.24 to 0.26 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. Unique among sunbeams, neither sex has any white plumage. Males of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown and upper back; their lower back and rump are lilac-gold becoming silvery green on the uppertail coverts. Their tail feathers are dark brown to rufous, usually with bronzy edges. Their throat is rufous dotted with dusky gray, the breast a patchy buff, and the belly reddish brown. From north to south, the male's underparts become brighter, the crown darker, and the tail redder. Females are similar to the males but the gold and green of the lower back and rump are duller or absent. A. c. caumatonota differs from the nominate with an iridescent amethyst rump and purplish amethyst uppertail coverts.
Taxonomy
The shining sunbeam currently (early 2022) has two recognized subspecies, the nominate A. c. cupripennis and A. c. caumatonota. In the past the species had been subdivided into as many as six subspecies. In addition, what is now the purple-backed sunbeam (A. aliciae) has also been treated as a subspecies of shining sunbeam.
- Scientific name
- Aglaeactis cupripennis
- Authority
- (Bourcier, 1843)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Aglaeactis
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of shining sunbeam is found in all three Andean ranges of Colombia and south from there through Ecuador to Peru's departments of La Libertad and Huánuco. A. c. caumatonota is found in Peru from the nominate's range south to the departments of Lima and Cuzco.<p>The species inhabits sub-páramo to páramo, landscapes characterized by grasslands with scattered shrubs and trees. It also inhabits cloudforest and semi-arid ridges with a few trees. In elevation it ranges from 2,500 to 4,300 m (8,200 to 14,100 ft).
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
In Colombia at least, the shining sunbeam makes seasonal elevational movements.<p>The shining sunbeam forages for nectar at all levels from the ground to treetops. It feeds at a wide variety of bromeliads, vines, and trees including Embothrium, Puya, and Fuchsia, and males defend patches of flowering plants. The species also feeds on small arthropods by hawking.<p>The shining sunbeam's breeding seasons differ throughout its range, from March to September in Colombia, between February and April in Ecuador, and in (and possibly between) November and April in Peru. It builds a compact cup nest of moss and cobweb lined with soft plant fibers and sometimes decorated on the outside with bark or lichen. It is placed on a branch or epiphyte, usually 4 to 10 m (10 to 30 ft) above ground but sometimes as high as 15 m (50 ft). The female alone incubates the clutch of two white eggs for 16 to 18 days; fledging occurs 24 to 27 days after hatch.<p>The shining sunbeam's song is "high-pitched chirping notes, 'tsip...chew...chew...tseep.....tsip..chew...'". Its calls include "single upslurred 'suweet' notes and single high-pitched 'see' notes."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small, long-tailed bird that tends to stay hidden. Difficult to see well unless singing, when it can perch more conspicuously. Overall pale gray-brown with rufous wings and crown. Similar to Slaty Spinetail but paler especially on the throat. Found in weedy, tangled undergrowth in fields and edges of secondary growth. Distinctive song: a harsh sneezing “achoo…achoo…achoo” repeated over and over.
Flores Flowerpecker
Dicaeum rhodopygiale
Small and stout forest-dweller that hops and buzzes about in the canopy like a large, active insect. Note male’s iridescent dark blue back, bright red chest, and black line extending down the white belly. As with many other flowerpeckers, the female is considerably duller, with a red rump patch being the only patch of bright color on her otherwise gray-brown plumage. Endemic to Flores, where it inhabits montane and foothill forests. Calls include high-pitched whistles and dry clicking notes.
Square-tailed Kite
Lophoictinia isura
Uncommon, inconspicuous raptor with a fairly small bill. Adult has a pale head and reddish underparts with black streaks on neck. Juvenile has a more reddish head with less streaking. In flight, tail has obvious square corners with a dark band at the base. Sails over forest woodland habitats just above the tree canopy, typically with little wing movement. Occurs singly or in pairs. At a distance, and particularly when heavily worn, take care to identify juvenile birds from Black Kite, which has more uniformly patterned plumage.
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