- Urosticte ruficrissa
Identification
9-10 cm. A mainly greenish-white Hummingbird.
Male
- Medium-sized straight black bill
- Shining green upperparts
- White postocular streak
- Shining green underparts with buffy undertail-coverts
- Dusky bronze tail, deeply forked, broadly tipped white in centre
Female
- Shining green upperparts
- White underparts with green spots, glittering on throat
- Dusky bronze tail, forked, outermost feathers broadly white tipped
Immatures are similar to females.
Distribution
Eastern slopes of the Andes in southern Colombia and eastern Ecuador.
A generally uncommon restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Sometimes considered conspecific with Purple-bibbed Whitetip.
Habitat
Moist montanes, especially partly open forest and forest edges.
Occurs from 1600 to 2400 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on nectar of flowering Palicourea, Clusia and bromeliads. Catches also insects in the air or by gleaning them from leaves.
Forages in lower and middle strata of forest.
Breeding
Breeding season January to April. The nest is cup-shaped and is made of moss and vines. It's placed 2 to 4 m above the ground. Lays 2 eggs.
Movements
A sedentary species with some local movements to higher altitudes after breeding season.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Rufous-vented Whitetip. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Rufous-vented_Whitetip
