Amethyst-throated Sunangel (Heliangelus Amethysticollis)

The amethyst-throated sunangel (''Heliangelus amethysticollis'') is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Ecuador, and 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 MBretrieved May 27, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The amethyst-throated sunangel's taxonomy is not settled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy assign these four subspecies to it:

*''H. a. laticlavius'', Salvin (1891)
*''H. a. decolor'', Zimmer, JT (1951)
*''H. a. apurimacensis'', Weller (2009)
*''H. a. amethysticollis'', d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye (1838)

The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society includes three other subspecies. They are ''H. a. violiceps'' and ''H. a. clarisse'' that IOC, HBW, and the Clements taxonomy treat as Longuemare's sunangel (''H. clarisse'') and ''H. a. spencei'' that they treat as the Mérida sunangel (''H. spencei'').Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022Remsen, 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, 2022

Description

The amethyst-throated sunangel, as defined by the IOC, is about long and weighs . The species has a straight, rather short, black bill. The adult male of nominate subspecies ''H. a. amethysticollis'' has shiny dark green upperparts with a bright green frontlet just above the bill. Its throat and upper breast gorget is rosy amethyst. That area has a narrow black border on the neck and a broader cinnamon band below it. The lower breast is glittery green and the rest of the underparts buff with green discs. The central tail feathers are bronze-green and the outer ones blue-black. The adult female is similar to the male but has a rusty throat with black flecks. Immatures are similar to the female.del Hoyo, J., I. Heynen, N. Collar, P. F. D. Boesman, G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Amethyst-throated Sunangel (''Heliangelus amethysticollis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.amtsun1.01 retrieved January 20, 2022

Subspecies ''H. a. laticlavius'' has a reddish purple gorget, a whitish breastband, and a buffy grayish belly. ''H. a. decolor'' has a paler frontlet than the nominate; its gorget is a deeper violet, its breast band whiter, and its belly grayer. ''H. a. apurimacensis'' has a turquoise-green frontlet, a whitish buff breast, and a pale buff belly.

Distribution and habitat

The four subspecies of amethyst-throated sunangel are found thus:

*''H. a. laticlavius'', the Andes of southern Ecuador south to northern Department of Cajamarca in Peru
*''H. a. decolor'', the eastern slope of the Andes in central Peru from south of the Marañón River to the Department of Junín
*''H. a. apurimacensis'', the valleys of the Apurímac River and upper Urubamba River in the departments of Ayacucho and Cusco, southeastern Peru
*''H. a. amethysticollis'', the eastern slope of the Andes from southern Peru into northwestern Bolivia as far as Cochabamba Department

The species inhabits wet and humid montane forest including cloudforest and elfin forest. Though it is found at forest edges and open bushy terrain, it prefers the interior of closed forest. In elevation it mostly ranges between but has been often recorded as high as in Peru.

Behavior

Movement

The amethyst-throated sunangel is sedentary.

Feeding

The amethyst-throated sunangel feeds on nectar and also includes a high percentage of insects in its diet. It defends feeding territories that are dense with nectar sources; with its short bill it primarily feeds at flowers with shallow corollas. It typically feeds at heights up to and always near cover at the forest edge or interior. It captures insects by hawking from a perch.

Breeding

The amethyst-throated sunangel nests in Peru during February and March. It builds a nest of fine plant fiber, moss, and lichens attached to a strand of moss dangling from a branch. It typically places it about above ground and under a leaf or clump of moss that shelters it from weather. The clutch of two eggs is incubated by the female, who first breeds in her second year. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.

Vocalization

The amethyst-throated sunangel's call is "a short, buzzy, dry trill...repeated at intervals."

Status

The IUCN has assessed the amethyst-throated sunangel as being of Least Concern. Its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. It is fairly common overall, locally abundant, and occurs in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q470381

amethyst-throated sunangel
Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes
Birds of the Peruvian Andes
Birds of the Bolivian Andes
amethyst-throated sunangel
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot