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
Spotted Catbird
Ailuroedus maculosus
Chunky rainforest bird with emerald green upperparts, black spot below the dark red eye, and green-olive underparts with extensive pale spotting. Inhabits the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland (Cairns region), thus does not overlap with similar Green Catbird. Forages mostly in middle and upper story of the rainforest. Compare female and juvenile Satin Bowerbird (with blue eye, darker bill). Spotted Catbird is well known for its characteristic catlike yowling call.
Ryukyu Robin
Larvivora komadori
Rather tame songbird of shady subtropical broadleaf forests. Breeds in the northern Ryukyu Islands, with some migrating to the southern Ryukyu Islands. Bright rufous-orange above, whitish below, with a black throat, breast, and flanks in the male. Pumps the tail and flutters wings regularly, much like other robins. Most readily seen on hiking trails beside streams during the earlier hours of the day. Gives high-pitched calls and beautiful whistled songs.
Cone-billed Tanager
Conothraupis mesoleuca
Recently rediscovered tanager. Males are black and white with a whitish-gray bill and small white wing patch. Females are uniformly olive-brown with a darker bill. Found in seasonally flooded forests along rivers and in gallery forest, but always near water. Forages at lower levels but also perches in the tops of trees. Feeds on seeds but also has been reported flycatching. The song begins with a series of low notes and finishes with a trill: “tche, tche, tche, tche, tche, tcherrrrrrrrrrrr, tcherrrrrrrrr, tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”
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