Racket-tailed coquette
Racket-tailed coquette | |
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Mounted specimen of Discosura longicaudus, the racket-tailed coquette. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Order: | Apodiformes |
Family: | Trochilidae |
Genus: | Discosura |
Species: | D. longicaudus
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Binomial name | |
Discosura longicaudus Gmelin, 1788
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Range of the racket-tailed coquette | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Discosura longicauda (Gmelin, 1788) |
The racket-tailed coquette (Discosura longicaudus; sometimes Discosura longicauda[3]) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae native to northern South America.
Taxonomy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/MonographTrochi3Goul_0046.jpg/170px-MonographTrochi3Goul_0046.jpg)
German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the racket-tailed coquette in 1788.[4] Its species name is from the Latin words longus "long" and cauda "tail".[5] It is sometimes considered to be the only member of the genus Discosura, as the thorntails, the other possible members of the genus, are often placed in the genus Popelairia.[6][7]
Martin Johnson Heade depicted two coquettes in his painting Two Green-Breasted Hummingbirds (c. 1863), as part of his "Gems of Brazil".[8]
Description
The species weighs about 3.4 grams (0.12 oz) and is sexually dimorphic. The male is around 10.2 centimetres (4.0 in) long and has a distinctive brilliant green head and throat with a copper-coloured abdomen. The dark purple-brown tail is 5.1 centimetres (2.0 in) long, and forked, with two very long prongs, ending with a pair of round paddle- ("racket") shaped feathers. The female is shorter with a length of 6.9 centimetres (2.7 in). It has duller green upperparts and breast, black throat bordered by white and a white belly. Its tail is grey tipped with white,[9] and lacks "rackets".[10]
Distribution and habitat
The racket-tailed coquette has a wide distribution range; it is found in northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and southern Venezuela. It is also found on the eastern tip of Brazil[6] Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, as well as riparian forests and scrubby savannahs.[7]
Behavior
Racket-tailed coquettes typically gather in the canopy of hapaxanth trees with other hummingbirds and steal other larger hummingbirds' nectar. They are consequently chased by the larger birds.[9]
They build their cup-sized nests out of soft plants and down 3–6 metres (9.8–19.7 ft) up a tree. Females usually have a clutch of two eggs, which are incubated for 13–14 days.[10]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN
- ^ "Discosura longicaudus (Gmelin, 1788)". Colaboraciones Americanas Sobre Aves. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Zoological Citation Notes --L". Zoological Nomenclature Resource. 14 July 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Sibley, Charles Gald; Monroe, Burt Leavelle (1990). Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press. p. 148. ISBN 0300049692.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (PDF). Christopher Helm. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Racket-tailed Coquette (Discosura longicauda)". The Internet Bird Collection. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ a b Sedgwick, Carolyn W. (2011). T. S. Schulenberg (ed.). "Discosura longicaudus". Neotropical Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ Theodore E. Jr., Stebbins; Comey, Janet L.; Quinn, Karen E. (2000). The Life and Work of Martin Johnson Heade: A Critical Analysis and Catalogue Raisonné. Yale University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-300-08183-1. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b Hilty, Steven L. (2002). Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press. p. 408. ISBN 1400834090.
- ^ a b "Racket-tailed Coquette (Discosura longicaudus)". Planetofbirds.com. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
External links
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