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Crimson Topaz - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Anselmo d Affonseca
Manaus, Brazil, May 2015
Topaza pella

Identification

20cm

  • Iridescent red underparts
  • Golden yellow throat patch
  • Tail feathers cross over
  • Short, curved bill

Distribution

South America: found in eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and central and eastern Amazonian Brazil.

Female
Photo by megan perkins
Escalera, SE Venezuela, November 2008

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized[1]

  • T. p. pella:
  • T. p. smaragdulus
  • French Guiana and eastern Brazil (Amapá, and central Pará, from the east bank of the Tapajós River to the Tocantins River)
  • T. p. microrhyncha:
  • Eastern Amazonian Brazil (Marajó, and northeastern Pará east of the Tocantins River)

Fiery Topaz has in the past been included in this species.

Habitat

Gallery forests and other humid forest; often near streams.

Behaviour

Always high in the forest, may even be above the canopy catching insects!

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
  3. Ber van Perlo. 2009. A field guide to the Birds of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7
  4. fohn.net
  5. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links

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