Selasphorus Heloisa
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The bumblebee hummingbird (''Selasphorus heloisa'') 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 tribe
Mellisugini Mellisugini is one of the three Tribe (biology), tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae in the hummingbird family (biology), family Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Lampornithini (mountain gems) and Trochilini (emeral ...
of subfamily
Trochilinae Trochilinae is one of the six subfamily, subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family (biology), family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into three Tribe (biology), tribes: Lampornithini (mountain gems) containing 18 species, Mellisugini ...
, the "bee hummingbirds". 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
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, but has occurred as a vagrant in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Taxonomy and systematics

The
International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...
(IOC), the North American Classification Committee of the
American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...
, and the
Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...
place the bumblebee hummingbird in genus ''Selasphorus''.
BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
's
Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
(HBW) places it in genus ''Atthis''. The three worldwide taxonomic systems assign two subspecies, the nominate ''S. h. heloisa''/''A. h. heliosa'' and ''S. h. margarethae''/''A. h. margarethae''.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 August 25, 2021


Description

The bumblebee hummingbird is long and weighs ; it is one of the smallest hummingbirds.Arizmendi, M. d. C., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, and T. S. Schulenberg (2021). Bumblebee Hummingbird (''Selasphorus heloisa''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bumhum.01.1 retrieved July 28, 2022 Both sexes of both subspecies have a short, straight, blackish bill and a small white spot behind the eye. Males of the nominate subspecies have metallic bronze green to golden bronze upperparts. 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 metallic magenta purple to bluish purple at its edges, and its longer hindward feathers flare out and back. The flanks are light reddish cinnamon with a bronze wash. The rest of the underparts are dull white to grayish white. The central pair of tail feathers are bronzy green with some reddish cinnamon at the base. The next pair are reddish cinnamon on their base half and black on the outer half, often with a bronzy green band between the colors. The rest of the tail feathers are reddish cinnamon at their base and black in the middle, often with a bronzy green band between the colors, and have a wide white tip. The nominate female also has metallic bronze green to golden green upperparts. The chin and throat are white with many metallic bronze spots. The flanks have more reddish cinnamon than the male's and the rest of the underparts are dull white to grayish white with a reddish cinnamon tinge on 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 ...
. The tail has less and duller reddish cinnamon and more black than the male's, and the outer feathers' tips are more off-white than white. Subspecies ''S. h. margarethae'' is smaller than the nominate. Males' plumage is similar to the nominate's. However, their gorget is dark amethyst violet, the underparts pure white rather than grayish white, and the flanks are light buff rather than reddish cinnamon. The female has smaller metallic spots on the throat, the flanks and undertail coverts are light buff rather than cinnamon, and the tail feather tips are pure white.


Distribution and habitat

The bumblebee hummingbird is found in both of Mexico's major mountain ranges. The nominate subspecies is found in northeast, central, and southern Mexico from
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
to
Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
and
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
. ''S. h. margarethae'' is found in northwestern and western Mexico from
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...
and Chihuahua to
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
. There is one record from the
Huachuca Mountains The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this ...
of southeastern Arizona, U.S.A. The species inhabits several montane landscapes including the interiors, edges, and clearings of semi-humid to humid pine-oak and
evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...
,
cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...
, and humid scrublands. In elevation it ranges between .


Behavior


Movement

Though the bumblebee hummingbird is generally considered sedentary, there is evidence that it makes seasonal movements between pine-oak forest and cloudforest.


Feeding

The bumblebee hummingbird forages for nectar at a wide variety of flowering plants. It feeds at all levels of the vegetation but favors the low to middle heights. At flowers it typically hovers in a horizontal posture with the tail cocked up. It is dominated by larger hummingbirds, but its small size allows it to sometimes feed in their territories without confrontation. In addition to nectar, the species feeds on small
arthropods 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 ...
.


Breeding

Male bumblebee hummingbirds make a courtship display by hovering in front of a female with the gorget spread and tail cocked up. They also make rhythmic vertical movements while still facing the female. Specimens in breeding condition have been collected between April and July and also in December. In contrast, Ortega-Álvarez et al. noted nesting activity from late January into early March during a study in Oaxaca. The nest was a cup made of moss and lichen with perhaps fibers from other sources as well. It was on a thin branch of an avocado tree (''Persea americana'') about above the ground. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.


Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The bumblebee hummingbird's song has been described as "a high, thin, whining ''sss ssssssssis'' or ''seeuuuuu'', drawn out and fading at end", and is sung from a perch. Its calls are "high chips, much like hose of other''Selasphorus''." The male's wings make an insect-like buzz in flight; it is louder during the courtship display.


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 ...
has assessed the bumblebee hummingbird as being of least concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is unknown it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. The Mexican government does not consider it to be threatened.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1260228 Selasphorus Endemic birds of Mexico Mexican montane bird species Birds described in 1839 Taxa named by René Lesson Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Hummingbird species of North America Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN