Brown Inca
Coeligena wilsoni
Drab, long-billed hummingbird of Andean cloud forest in western Ecuador and western Colombia. Brown, bronze, and dull green tones dominate its plumage, but the white patches on the sides of neck shine like beacons in the dark forest that it inhabits. Purple throat patch (reduced in female) is usually inconspicuous. Usually found feeding on tubular flowers inside forest or along the edge, and regularly visits feeders in some areas.
Identification
The brown inca is about 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh about 7.0 g (0.25 oz) and females about 6.5 g (0.23 oz). Both sexes have a long, straight, black bill and a white spot behind the eye. Adult males' upperparts are reddish bronze with a greenish olive lower back and a bronzy forked tail. Their underparts are mostly dull brown with an amethyst gorget and a white patch on each side of the breast. Adult females are essentially the same as males but for a longer bill, a smaller gorget, and a less forked tail. Immatures resemble the adult female.
Taxonomy
The brown inca and most other members of genus Coeligena were at one time placed in genus Helianthea but have been in their current placement since the mid-1900s. The brown inca, bronzy inca (C. coeligena), and black inca (C. prunellei) are sister species. The brown inca is monotypic.<p>The species' specific epithet commemorates the American naturalist Thomas Bellerby Wilson.
- Scientific name
- Coeligena wilsoni
- Authority
- (Delattre & Bourcier, 1846)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Coeligena
Range and habitat
The brown inca is found on the Pacific slope of the Andes from Colombia's Chocó Department south through Ecuador all the way to Loja Province. It most commonly inhabits the edges of cloudforest and is also found in the forest interior. In elevation it generally ranges from 700 to 1,900 m (2,300 to 6,200 ft). However, it is most common below 1,300 m (4,300 ft)and has been recorded as high as 2,400 m (7,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The brown inca probably makes some seasonal movements but little data are available.<p>The brown inca forages for nectar by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of a wide variety of flowering plants low in the forest understory. Examples include genera Psammisia, Macleania, Cavendishia, and Fuchsia. In addition to feeding on nectar it gleans small arthropods from vegetation and sometimes captures them by hawking.<p>The brown inca's breeding season spans from January to June. It builds a cup nest of moss and plant fibers, typically 2 to 3 m (7 to 10 ft) above ground in a fork of a small tree. The female alone incubates the clutch of two eggs for 15 to 16 days; fledging occurs 22 to 26 days after hatch.<p>What is thought to be the brown inca's song is "a repeated phrase comprising three notes, 'tsip-tzreeew-tzrew'". It has a variety of calls such as "tsit" and "tsi-tsit" notes and a "tsitsitsitsitsit…tsitsitsi...tsitsitsit..." series. In flight it utters "a short rattle 'trrr', short twitters... [and] a high-pitched 'tzree...tzee...tzee...tzee'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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