Marvelous Spatuletail - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by megan perkins
LHuembo, North Peru, November 2011

Loddigesia mirabilis

Identification

Male 15–17 cm (6-6¾ in); female 9–10 cm (3½-4 in)

• White, green and bronze plumage
• Blue crest
• Turquoise gorget
• Black line on white underparts

Strong difference in plumage between sexes (dimorphism)

Distribution

Female
Photo by WilsonDiaz
Huembo, northen Peru.

Central America: found in the Andes of northern Peru (along east bank of Río Utcubamba).

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species. The Marvelous Spatuletail was discovered in 1835 by bird collector Andrew Matthews for George Loddiges.

Habitat

Mid elevation (mostly 2100-2900 m asl) forest edge, second growth, scrub and thorny thickets. It is threatened by logging.

Behaviour

Male
Photo by Stanley Jones
Huembo Center, Amazonas, Peru, January 2017

Males display in leks

Diet

Their diet consists almost entirely of nectar. They generally perch while feeding.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Birdlife International species page read February 2010
3. Wikipedia
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Marvelous Spatuletail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Marvelous_Spatuletail

External Links

Search for photos of Marvelous Spatuletail in the gallery