Beautiful Hummingbird
Calothorax pulcher
Small hummingbird of desert scrub and brushy woodland in dry interior areas of southwest Mexico. Feeds quietly at all levels, often on cactus flowers. Note the long arched bill on both sexes. Spectacular male has expansive magenta gorget and long, forked tail (usually held closed in a point). Female is buffy below with a dusky mask. The very similar Lucifer Hummingbird occurs to the north and is rarely separable in the field from Beautiful (male Lucifer has pointed outer tail feathers vs. blunt on Beautiful).
Identification
The beautiful sheartail is 7.7 to 9 cm (3.0 to 3.5 in) long and weighs about 2.2 to 3 g (0.078 to 0.11 oz). Both sexes have a long, slightly decurved, black bill. Males have metallic bronze green upperparts and a white stripe behind the eye. Their gorget is metallic magenta purple that is more violet and blue to the rear; the rear feathers are elongated. The breast is grayish white, the flanks metallic bronze green, and the undertail coverts white. The tail is long and forked. The central two pairs of feathers are metallic bronze green and the other three pairs bronzy black. The female's upperparts are also metallic bronze green that is duller on the crown. The underparts are pale grayish buff with cinnamon buff flanks. The tail is shorter than the male's and rounded. Its central two pairs of feathers are bright bronze green. The three outer pairs have light cinnamon rufous bases and the balance is black but for white tips on the outer two pairs.
Taxonomy
The beautiful sheartail shares genus Calothorax with the Lucifer sheartail (C. lucifer). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Calothorax pulcher
- Authority
- Gould, 1859
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Calothorax
Range and habitat
The beautiful sheartail is found only in south central Mexico, from central Guerrero and southern Puebla south to Oaxaca. It inhabits arid and semiarid scrublands, semi-open areas with trees and shrubs, and gallery forest, mostly within interior valleys. In elevation it ranges between 1,000 and 2,200 m (3,300 and 7,200 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-fronted Parrot
Poicephalus gulielmi
A chunky, mid-sized parrot with a short tail. Mostly dark green with variably sized red patches on the crown, shoulders, and thighs. The red shoulders are often conspicuous in flight. Found in both lowland and montane forest as well as adjacent secondary habitats, usually in pairs or flocks, which sometimes contain dozens of birds. Similar to Brown-necked Parrot but smaller, with a smaller bill and a green rather than gray head. The calls are thin, high-pitched screeches.
Montane Blue Swallow
Hirundo atrocaerulea
Unmistakable blue-black swallow with incredibly long tail streamers. Can show small and irregular white patches on the body. Breeds in moist montane grassland. On migration and the wintering grounds, occurs more widely in open habitats including wetlands and cultivation. Rare and declining. Dark like a sawwing, but separated by glossy-blue coloration and longer tail streamers.
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloides
Small stout heron; favors freshwater marshes, lakes, and ponds with reeds and other surrounding vegetation. Tends to hunt rather sluggishly, hunched quietly at the edge of the water. At rest, appears buffy brown overall, but in flight transforms to mostly white when white wings and tail are revealed. Breeding adult has a rich buffy neck; nonbreeding and immature have a streaked neck.
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