Festive Coquette - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by Rafael Fortes
Ubatuba-SP, Brazil, August 2010

Lophornis chalybeus

Identification

7.5 to 8.5 cm
The male has long, green cheek tufts with white spots which it flares out as in this photo. This also shows the iridescent green patch behind the eyes. Like all Lophornis hummingbirds, it has a narrow band across the rump which in the case of the male is white.

The female lacks the spectacular cheek tufts and instead has a brownish throat and breast with white spots and a whitish moustachial stripe. The band across the rump is buff rather than white.

Female
Photo by Lcverissimo
Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, September 2012

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• L. c. verreauxii:

• Eastern Colombia to eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, north-western Brazil and central Bolivia

• L. c. klagesi:

• South-eastern Venezuela

• L. c. chalybeus:

• South-eastern Brazil (Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina)

Habitat

Photo by AdamRiley
Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, October 2010

Forest, secondary growth and savannah or cerrado.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of nectar. They use the traplining method for feeding.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Festive Coquette. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Festive_Coquette

External Links

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