- Orthorhyncus cristatus
Identification
8–9·5 cm (3-3¾ in)
The male has green upperparts except for a blackish tail lacking the white tips seen in the female, dark gray underparts, and in addition shows a pointed crest. Seen from the front, the crest looks like a flat shield that in the right light is shiny green (northern end of range) or greenish-violet (southern end of range).
The female,is green above and underparts light.
Both males and females have a short straight bill.
Distribution
This bird is known from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles south to and including Grenada. The bird is resident in all these islands, but some dispersion is possible, for example is the range in Puerto Rico increasing from the NE corner.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]
- O. c. exilis:
- East Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Lesser Antilles to St. Lucia
- O. c. ornatus:
- St. Vincent (Lesser Antilles)
- O. c. cristatus:
- Barbados (Lesser Antilles)
- O. c. emigrans:
- Lesser Antilles (Grenadines and Grenada)
Habitat
Prefers open and semi-open areas from sea level to high into mountains. Seen more often in the lower, drier areas. The range of habitats include ornamental gardens and other cultivated areas in addition to the original scrub-forests and higher elevation wetter forest.
Behaviour
Diet
They feed on nectar from flowering shrubs and vines, also the lower branches of trees and hedges. As many hummingbirds, they augment the diet with insects. Being somewhat flexible in diet is a must in an area where Hurricanes occur somewhat regularly.
Is often limited to feeding from the smallest flowers available by competition with other species of hummingbirds.
Breeding
They construct a small cup-shaped nest on a twig about 1–3 m above ground. They breed throughout the year.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Antillean Crested Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Antillean_Crested_Hummingbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
