Elmettocresta fulvo

Oxypogon stuebelii

Colibrì grande, dal becco corto, trovato solo ad altitudini estremamente elevate nelle Ande centrali della Colombia. La barba verde e blu del maschio adulto, il motivo della testa nero e fulvo e la cresta arruffata lo rendono facilmente riconoscibile nel suo piccolo areale mondiale. La femmina e i maschi più giovani mancano di cresta e barba e hanno una colorazione più sobria, ma sono comunque riconoscibili per le loro grandi dimensioni e il becco relativamente minuscolo. Spesso visto nutrirsi o posarsi su piante di Espeletia. L'Espeletia, nota anche come Frailejón, è nativa delle praterie andine di alta quota; è caratterizzata dal suo fusto corto, simile a un tronco, grandi foglie allungate e piccoli fiori gialli.

Identificazione

The buffy helmetcrest is 11.2 to 12.7 cm (4.4 to 5.0 in) long. It has a short straight black bill. The male has a long buffy and black crest and a mostly black face with a buffy-white "collar". Its upperparts are bronzy green. It has a thin glittering green and blue gorget that forms a "beard". The rest of the underparts are grayish bronzy that blends to cinnamon-buff on the undertail coverts. The tail is moderately long and forked. Its upper side is coppery to bronzy green with the outer feathers showing a wide white stripe; the underside is rufous with some pale cinnamon. The adult female is similar to the male but lacks the crest and beard, and its underparts are rufous buff to brownish with greenish flecks. Juveniles resemble the adult female; the male has a partial crest and beard.

Tassonomia

The buffy helmetcrest was formerly considered to be a subspecies of what was known as the bearded helmetcrest (Oxypogon guerinii). The buffy helmetcrest was promoted to species status when the bearded helmetcrest was split into four species based on a study of biometric and plumage data published in 2013. The nominate subspecies was renamed the Green-bearded helmetcrest. The buffy helmetcrest is monotypic.

Nome scientifico
Oxypogon stuebelii
Autorità
Meyer, AB, 1884
Ordine
Caprimulgiformi
Famiglia
Trochilidae
Genere
Oxypogon

Areale e habitat

The buffy helmetcrest is found only on Nevado del Ruiz, an active volcano in the Colombian Central Andes on the border of Tolima and Caldas departments and the surrounding area. It inhabits humid open páramo where it favors Espeletia plants.

Migrazione
Resident species

Comportamento

The buffy helmetcrest is thought to be sedentary, but might move to lower elevations in the dry season like its congener the white-bearded helmetcrest (O. lindenii).<p>The buffy helmetcrest feeds on nectar; it especially favors Espeletia schultzii. It drinks nectar by clinging to flowers rather than hovering. It also feeds on insects and their larvae. It catches insects on the ground or by jumping or hawking from the ground or a perch. It also picks larvae from vegetation.<p>Nothing has been documented of the buffy helmetcrest's breeding phenology.<p>The buffy helmetcrest's song is "a repeated, high-pitched, single note 'tsee'...[repeated] every 3–5 seconds)." During the wet season, males sing for minutes on end from a perch.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione
declining

Foto

Distribuzione

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