- Schistes geoffroyi
Augastes geoffroyi
Includes: White-throated Wedgebill
Identification
This species has a very sharp bill (it is very narrow when seen from above). Throat is green in subspecies geoffroyi, white in albogularis.
Distribution
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies are recognized[1]:
- S. g. geoffroyi
- Andes of e Colombia to n Venezuela and e Peru
- S. g. albogularis
- Western and Central Andes of Colombia and w Ecuador - split as White-throated Wedgebill by Gill and Donsker
- S. g. chapmani
- Andes of central Bolivia (Cochabamba)
Schistes geoffroyi vs Augastes geoffroyi: the pendulum has been swinging back and forth on which genus to put this species in. Opus as usual is following the current majority among worldwide taxonomic lists.
Habitat
Moist montane forests.
Behaviour
This species uses its sharp bill to pierce a hole near the bottom of a flower to rob the nectar through this back door. It does so at relatively large flowers such as Heliconia.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
- SACC proposal (not passed) to lump genus Schistes into Augastes
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Wedge-billed Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Wedge-billed_Hummingbird
