The fork-tailed woodnymph (''Thalurania furcata'') is a species of

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 ...

in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in every mainland

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 ...

n country except

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The fork-tailed woodnymph was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist

Johann Friedrich Gmelin Johann Friedrich Gmelin (8 August 1748 – 1 November 1804) was a German natural history, naturalist, chemist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist. Education Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp F ...

in his revised and expanded edition of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

's ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

''. He placed it with all the other hummingbirds in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Trochilus The streamertails are hummingbirds in the genus ''Trochilus'' that are endemic to Jamaica. It is the type genus of the family Trochilidae. Today, most authorities consider the two taxa in this genus as separate species, but some (e.g. AOU) conti ...

'' and coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Trochilus furcatus''. The fork-tailed woodnymph is now placed with three other woodnymphs in the genus '' Thalurania'' that was introduced in 1848 by the English ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

. The genus name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''thalos'' meaning "child" with ''ouranos'' meaning "heaven". The specific epithet ''furcata'' is from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

''furcatus'' meaning "forked". Thirteen subspecies of fork-tailed woodnymph are recognised: * ''T. f. refulgens'' Gould, 1853 * ''T. f. furcata'' (Gmelin, JF, 1788) * ''T. f. fissilis'' Berlepsch & Hartert, E, 1902 * ''T. f. orenocensis''

Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 – 24 February 1944) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete his degree. After his studies he worked in Vie ...

, 1921 * ''T. f. nigrofasciata'' (Gould, 1846) * ''T. f. viridipectus'' Gould, 1848 * ''T. f. jelskii'' Taczanowski, 1874 * ''T. f. simoni'' Hellmayr, 1906 * ''T. f. balzani'' Simon, 1896 * ''T. f. furcatoides'' Gould, 1861 * ''T. f. boliviana'' Boucard, 1894 * ''T. f. baeri'' Hellmayr, 1907 * ''T. f. eriphile'' ( Lesson, R, 1832) In the early 20th century some authors treated subspecies ''nigrofasciata'', ''jelskii'', ''simoni'', ''balzalni'', and ''eriphile'' (with ''baeri'' included) as separate species. Others have treated what are now the crowned woodnymph (''T. colombica'') and Mexican woodnymph (''Eupherusa ridgwayi'') as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

with the fork-tailed. In addition, a few additional subspecies have been proposed but all have proved to be hybrids of this species and others.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022Stiles, F.G., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Fork-tailed Woodnymph (''Thalurania furcata''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.fotwoo1.01 retrieved August 27, 2022 Fork-tailed woodnymph (Thalurania furcata viridipectus) male Rio Napo.jpg, male ''T. f. viridipectus'', Ecuador Fork-tailed woodnymph (Thalurania furcata viridipectus) male in flight Sumaco.jpg, male ''T. f. viridipectus'', Ecuador Fork-tailed woodnymph (Thalurania furcata viridipectus) male in flight Sumaco 2.jpg, male ''T. f. viridipectus'', Ecuador

Description

Fork-tailed woodnymph males are long and weigh . Females are long and weigh . Both sexes of all subspecies have a straight, black, medium-length bill. Adult males of the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

have mostly dark bronzy green upperparts, dark dusky bronze crown and nape, and a violet band across the upper back. Their throat is glittering green, the belly violet, and the undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

dark steely blue with dull white edges. Their tail is forked and blue-black. The nominate adult female has bright green upperparts with a duller and more bronze crown. Its underparts are pale gray. The tail is green near the base and the rest steely blue-black with white tips on the outer three pairs of feathers. Juvenile males are dull bronze-green above and dusky bronze-green below. Juvenile females are more bronzy green above than the adult and some feathers have buffy fringes. Subspecies ''T. f. refulgens'' and ''T. f. orenocensis'' are essentially like the nominate. ''T. f. fissilis'' males have solid blue undertail coverts. ''T. f. nigrofasciata'' males have golden-green upperparts, a band of black between the extensive green throat and the violet belly, and a gap in the violet band on the upper back. The male ''T. f. viridipectus'' also has a large green

gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...

with a narrow black band between it and the belly. ''T. f. jelskii''s lower throat and breast have a blue tinge and an incomplete black band. The male ''T. f. balzani'' has a green crown and pure white undertail coverts. ''T. f. furcatoides'' males are somewhat larger than the nominate and have a blackish crown. ''T. f. boliviana'' males have a relatively small green gorget and sometimes some small black patches where others have a band. ''T. f. simoni'' is very like ''balzani'' but with a dark stripe in the center of the vent area and undertail coverts. Males of ''T. f. baeri'' and ''T. f. eriphile'' have glittering green foreheads and blackish crowns. Females of the different subspecies differ mainly in the darkness of their gray underparts and sometimes the undertail coverts; their crowns and upperparts differ much like those of the respective males.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of fork-tailed woodnymph are found thus" * ''T. f. refulgens'',

Paria Peninsula The Paria Peninsula () is a large peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, in the state of Sucre in northern Venezuela. Geography Separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Paria, the peninsula is part of the mountain range, in the Venezuelan Coa ...

and Sierra de Cumaná of northeastern Venezuela * ''T. f. furcata'', from extreme eastern Venezuela through

the Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

to northeast Brazil north of the Amazon * ''T. f. fissilis'', southeastern Venezuela, extreme western Guyana, and

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

in northern Brazil * ''T. f. orenocensis'', upper

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

basin of southern Venezuela * ''T. f. nigrofasciata'', Colombia's

Guainía Department Guainía (; Yuri language: "Land of many waters") is a department of Eastern Colombia. It is in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela and Brazil. Its capital is Inírida. In 1963 Guainía was split off from Vaupés department. The nor ...

, southern Venezuela's Amazonas state, and the upper Rio Negro in northwestern Brazil * ''T. f. viridipectus'', eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northeastern Peru * ''T. f. jelskii'', eastern Peru and adjoining western Brazil * ''T. f. simoni'', south of the Amazon in extreme eastern Peru and western Brazil * ''T. f. balzani'', north-central Brazil south of the Amazon east to the Rio Tapajós * ''T. f. furcatoides'', eastern Brazil south of the Amazon east of the Tapajós * ''T. f. boliviana'', southeastern Peru through east-central Bolivia into

Santa Cruz Department Santa Cruz () is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia, occupying about one-third (33.74%) of the country's territory. With an area of , it is slightly smaller than Japan or the US state of Montana. It is located in the ...

* ''T. f. baeri'', northeastern and central Brazil to southern Bolivia and northwestern and north-central Argentina * ''T. f. eriphile'', southeastern Brazil from

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 ...

south into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina's

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

The fork-tailed woodnymph inhabits a variety of landscapes within

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses , of which are covered by the rainf ...

. It is found in '' terra firme'' and '' várzea'' forests, especially their edges and gaps; mature

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

; and semi-open areas such as plantations and gardens. It is thought to also inhabit some scrublands but data are lacking. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about

Behavior

Movement

The fork-tailed woodnymph's movements are not known in detail. It is assumed to be mostly sedentary. However, it apparently makes local movements to follow flowering events and the populations in the Andean foothills might make elevational movements.

Feeding

The fork-tailed woodnymph forages for nectar at all levels of its habitat, utilizing a wide variety of flowering plants, shrubs, vines, and trees. Males often defend flower patches against both conspecifics and other hummingbird species. Females are sometimes territorial but more often forage by

trap-lining In ethology and behavioral ecology, trap-lining or traplining is a feeding strategy in which an individual visits food sources on a regular, repeatable sequence, much as Animal trapping, trappers check their lines of traps. Traplining is usually ...

, visiting a circuit of nectar sources. In addition to nectar, the species captures small

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s on the wing and sometimes by gleaning from foliage.

Breeding

The fork-tailed woodnymph's breeding seasons vary widely across its large range; it nests somewhere in every month of the year. Nests in Ecuador were a tiny cup of seed down bound with spiderweb with some lichen on the outside. They were attached with spiderweb to a horizontal branch between above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for about 15 days and fledging occurs 22 to 25 days after hatch.

Vocalization

The fork-tailed woodnymph's song varies somewhat geographically. In Ecuador and Peru it is "an incessant series of high-pitched bisyllabic, thin wiry notes 'see-tseet...see-tseet....see-tseet...'". In eastern Venezuela it is describes as a "repeated variable series of 3–7 insect-like pulsing notes 'tsee-see-see....tsee-see-see-see-see...tsee-see-see...'". When perched it gives "a monotonously repeated single chip" and in flight "short dry chips s adry trill or chatter".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

conservation status for the fork-tailed woodnymph lists it as being of "least concern". It has a very large range, but its population size and trend are not known. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered common over much of its range and occurs in several protected areas. However, in some parts of Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay deforestation might threaten it.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q581590 fork-tailed woodnymph Birds of the Guiana Shield Birds of the Amazon rainforest Birds of Brazil Birds of Bolivia Birds of Paraguay fork-tailed woodnymph fork-tailed woodnymph Taxonomy articles created by Polbot