The brown violetear (''Colibri delphinae'') is a large
hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...
that breeds at middle elevations in the mountains in
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
, and western and northern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
(primarily the
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
and the
tepui
A tepui , or tepuy (), is a member of a family of table-top mountains or mesas found in northern South America, especially in Venezuela, western Guyana, and northern Brazil. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the ...
s) with isolated populations on
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
and in the
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian state
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
.
The breeding habitat is forest at altitudes between 400 and 1600 m, but the brown Violet-ear will spread widely into the lowlands when not nesting. It is replaced at higher altitudes by its relative, the
lesser violetear (''C. cyanotus''), but their ranges overlap widely.
The brown violetear is typically found high in the canopy of the rainforest, tall second growth and
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
plantations, but it will feed at lower levels at edges and clearings. The nest is a small cup of plant down saddled on a twig 1–3 m. high in a bush, into which two white eggs are laid.
The 11.5 cm long, 6.5-7 g weight brown violetear is unmistakable; it is mainly dull brown, with a rufous rump and greyer underparts. There is a violet patch running back and down from the eye, a
hermit-like malar stripe, and a glittering green and blue throat stripe. The bill is relatively short and almost straight.
The female is similar to the male, but has a smaller throat patch. Immature bird have rufous fringes to the upperpart plumage, and little or no violet behind the eyes. The song is a vigorous repetition of the ''chit'' call, and is delivered by up to several dozen breeding males in loose
leks
Lek or LEK may refer to:
* Lek mating, of animals
* Albanian lek, currency
* Lek (magazine), Norway
* Lek (pharmaceutical company), now part of Sandoz
* Lek (river), Netherlands
* De Lek, Netherlands fiefdom
* L.E.K. Consulting, firm
* Leung ...
.
The brown violetear feeds on nectar from small flowers of trees,
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s
and
epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...
s. It also takes
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s, often caught in flight (
hawking), as an essential source of protein. Although not particularly territorial, this species is highly aggressive, and at feeders seems to spend far more time attacking other hummingbirds than actually feeding.
Brown violetear (Colibri delphinae) in flight Sumaco.jpg, showing green gorget
Brown Violetear (22164536820).jpg, showing violet auricular
References
*
* Hilty, '' Birds of Venezuela'' by,
* Stiles and Skutch, ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''
External links
Brown Violet-ear videos on the Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q535416
brown violetear
Hummingbird species of Central America
Hummingbird species of South America
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of the Guiana Shield
Birds of the Northern Andes
Birds of the Venezuelan Coastal Range
brown violetear
Taxa named by René Lesson
Birds of the Tepuis