Pink-throated Brilliant
Heliodoxa gularis
Scarce hummingbird found in cloud forest in the eastern foothills of the Andes in Ecuador, southern Colombia, and northern Peru. Green with a white vent and a small white dot behind eye. Male has a glittering pink throat patch, which is reduced or lacking on female. Small compared to other brilliants, and the only one with a white vent. Found only in remote and relatively undisturbed forest, and rarely encountered.
Identification
The pink-throated brilliant is about 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long. The sexes are essentially identical. Both have the eponymous glittering pinkish red throat patch, though the female's is smaller. They have an almost straight black bill, a white spot behind the eye, and shining green upperparts with an iridescent green stripe in the middle of the forehead. The breast is shining green, the belly gray, and the undertail coverts whitish. The tail is long, forked, and bronzy green.
Taxonomy
The pink-throated brilliant was at times treated as the sole member of genus Agapetornis and then Agapeta. In the mid 20th century Agapeta was merged into the present genus Heliodoxa. The species is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Heliodoxa gularis
- Authority
- (Gould, 1860)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Heliodoxa
Range and habitat
The pink-throated brilliant is mostly found from the southern end of Colombia's Eastern Andes into Ecuador as far as Sucumbíos and Napo provinces. There are also a few records in northeastern Peru. It inhabits humid montane forest at elevations between 250 and 1,050 m (820 and 3,400 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The pink-throated brilliant is believed to be sedentary.<p>The pink-throated brilliant has been documented feeding at the flowers of Psittacanthus and other members of family Loranthaceae. It also feeds on insects.<p>Almost nothing is known about the pink-throated brilliant's breeding phenology.<p>What is thought to be the pink-throated brilliant's song is "a repeated nasal 'keuw'...also given as a single note in flight and while feeding."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Handsome thickset bunting restricted to a small part of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau where it inhabits scrubby slopes above the timberline. Unmistakable in its range; no other bunting in the area combines its size, brick-orange back, and gray belly. Male has a striking black-and-white head pattern while female is gray-headed with weak streaking. Song is an unmusical and unremarkable series of high, sharp “pi-pi-pipipew” notes.
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