From Opus

Alternative name: Ruby Topaz

Chrysolampis mosquitus

Photo by obasanmi.
Photo taken: Arnos Vale Hotel, Tobago.

[edit] Identification

8.1 cm. The male has green-glossed dark brown upperparts, glossy red crown and nape, brilliant orange-gold throat and breast, brown underparts are brown, chestnut tail tipped black. The female has bronze-green upperparts and pale grey underparts. The tail is chestnut with a dark subterminal band and a white tip.

[edit] Distribution

Colombia, Venezuela,Trinidad and Tobago, and the Guianas, south to central Brazil and northern Bolivia.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species, which is the only member of its genus.

[edit] Habitat

Open country, gardens and cultivation.

[edit] Behaviour

2 eggs are laid in a tiny cup nest in the fork of a low branch. Incubation takes 16 days, and fledging another 18 or 19.

The diet includes nectar, taken from a wide variety of flowers, and some small insects.

[edit] External Links