Violet-crowned hummingbird
| Violet-crowned hummingbird | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Leucolia |
| Species: | L. violiceps
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leucolia violiceps Gould, 1859
| |
The violet-crowned hummingbird (Leucolia violiceps) is a medium-sized hummingbird. It is 10 cm long and weighs approximately 5 g.
The bird is best distinguished by its violet-colored cap, from where it gets its name. Adults are colored predominantly a dark olive green for their upperparts and tail. The underparts are predominantly white. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. It is red in coloration, and shows a black tip. The female is less colorful than the male.
The breeding habitat is in arid scrub of southeastern Arizona in the United States to southwestern Mexico, (the Madrean Sky Islands), and it is typically a mountain species. Outside its breeding range, it will occasionally stray from southernmost California to southwest Texas. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. This hummingbird is partially migratory, retreating from northernmost areas during the winter.
These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Amazilia violiceps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
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External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- Violet-crowned hummingbird photo; Article desertmuseum.org, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
- Violet-crowned hummingbird photo; Article & synopsis; state.tx (Texas)
- Violet-crowned hummingbird photos; Article w/RangeMaps InfoNatura, NatureServe
