The marvelous spatuletail (''Loddigesia mirabilis'') is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe

Heliantheini Heliantheini is one of the two Tribe (biology), tribes that make up the subfamily Lesbiinae of the hummingbird family (biology), family Trochilidae. The other tribe in the subfamily is Lesbiini. The informal name "brilliants" has been proposed f ...

in subfamily

Lesbiinae Lesbiinae is one of the six subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into two tribes: Heliantheini ("brilliants") containing 14 genera and Lesbiini ("coquettes") containing 18 genera. Phylogeny A mol ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to northern Peru.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip xls zipped 1 MB Retrieved 27 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The marvelous spatuletail is currently (early 2022) treated by worldwide taxonomic systems as the only member of its genus.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved 25 August 2021 However, a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the hummingbirds published in 2014 found that the marvelous spatuletail was embedded in genus '' Eriocnemis'', the "pufflegs". Moving it to ''Eriocnemis'' would require that the

colorful puffleg The colorful puffleg (''Eriocnemis mirabilis'') is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of ...

(currently ''E. mirabilis'') receive a new

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), 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 gramm ...

because the spatuletail's ''mirabilis'' has priority.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 31 January 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm. Retrieved 1 February 2022

Description

The male marvelous spatuletail is long including its tail. Females are long with a tail. The male's signature feature is its two outer tail feathers with bare shafts that cross each other and end in large purplish black racquets or "spatules". The remaining tail feathers are very short and are supported by two long 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 ...

. The female's outer tail feathers are also long, but shorter than the male's, and do not have the racquets.Züchner, T. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis), 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.marspa1.01. Retrieved 23 April 2022 Both sexes have a slightly decurved black bill and a white spot behind the eye. Males have mostly green upperparts with a blue crest and a brownish hindneck. Their

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 ...

is glossy blue-green and the rest of the underparts are white with a black line down the center. Females are also green above but do not have a crest or gorget. Their underparts are white without the male's black central line.

Distribution and habitat

The marvelous spatuletail is found only in a small area in 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 ...

of northern Peru. Most records are from the valley of the Utcubamba River in Amazonas Department with a few further east in the

Department of San Martín San Martín () is a department and region in northern Peru. Most of the department is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the department is Tarapoto. Geography Bounda ...

. It inhabits the edges of mature forest,

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 montane scrublands. It is partial to thickets of thorny ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

'' with alder (''

Alnus Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ext ...

''). In elevation it ranges between though there are unconfirmed reports both higher and lower.

Behavior

Movement

The marvelous spatuletail is a year-round resident of its range.

Feeding

The marvelous spatuletail forages 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 flowering plants where it perches to feed. It is most often seen feeding at a red-flowered lily ('' Bomarea formosissima'') but has been observed feeding in at least five other species of flowering plants. It is dominated by other hummingbird species that share its range.

Breeding

Little is known about the marvelous spatuletail's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

. Its breeding season appears to be between December and February but may extend from October to May. Males gather at leks and perform an aerial display.

Vocalization

The male marvelous spatuletail gives "a repeated high-pitched buzzy metallic note...'tzzz...tzzz...'" during its aerial display. Its calls include "an upslurred high-pitched sweet note 'tswee'" and "a more strident 'tsik'".

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 ...

originally assessed the marvelous spatuletail as Threatened, then in 1994 rated it as Vulnerable and since 2000 as Endangered. It is known from only two general areas and its population is thought to be smaller than 1000 mature individuals. Deforestation is rampant in its range though the species' preference for edge and scrubby habitats may somewhat ameliorate its effects. Males are hunted for

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

, as their hearts are believed to be an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...

. In 2005,

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit organization, non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC is the second BirdLife International partner in the United ...

provided Peruvian conservation partner ECOAN with support to sign a conservation easement with the Pomacochas Community to protect and manage about of significant habitat for the marvelous spatuletail. Over 30,000 saplings of native trees and bushes have been planted there. This conservation easement is the first of its kind in Peru.

In popular media

The marvelous spatuletail has been featured on the PBS TV series ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' and three BBC TV series, '' Natural World'', ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' ''Natural World'' Episode 5. "Attenborough's Ark: Natural World Special", 9 November 2012 and ''

The Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

'' (Season 1, Episode 7).

References

External links

Marvelous Spatuletail photo gallery
at VIREO {{Taxonbar, from=Q544000 marvellous spatuletail Hummingbird species of South America Birds of the Peruvian Andes Endemic birds of Peru marvellous spatuletail marvellous spatuletail