Epimachus albertisi The black-billed sicklebill (''Drepanornis albertisi''), also known as the buff-tailed sicklebill (leading to easy confusion with the hummingbird of the same name), is a species of bird-of-paradise. It, along with its congener, are the only memb ...

'', a bird-of-paradise from New Guinea, is also sometimes called "buff-tailed sicklebill".'' The buff-tailed sicklebill (''Eutoxeres condamini'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of hermit hummingbird from the lower

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and adjacent west Amazonian lowlands from southern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and northern

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

.Hinkelmann (1999)

Description

With a total length of and weighing , it is a relatively large

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

. Males and females are virtually identical, differing only in size (especially wing measurements), with the females being some 20% smaller. Its upperparts are

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

dull greenish, while the underparts are whitish, densely streaked with dusky. The neck-side has a relatively faint blue patch. The tips of the

rectrices Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

(tail feathers) are white, and there is a naked stripe on top of the head (but this is usually concealed). The most conspicuous features, however, are those the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

refers to: the bill is strongly decurved, and the outer three rectrices on each side are deep

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...

, best visible from below. Immature birds have light-tipped

remiges Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

(pinions), hardly any blue on the neck, and lack the naked crown stripe.

Hatchling In oviparous biology, a hatchling is a newly hatched fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. A group of mammals called monotremes lay eggs, and their young are hatchlings as well. Fish Fish hatchlings generally do not receive parental care, similar to ...

s have black skin and grey down. There are two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

which are not very distinct and almost form a continuous

cline Cline may refer to: Science * Cline (biology), a measurable gradient in a single trait in a species across its geographical range * Cline (hydrology), a fluid layer with a property that varies * Cline (mathematics) or generalised circle, a circl ...

, with an extensive intergradation zone in northern Peru: * ''Eutoxeres condamini condamini'' (Bourcier, 1851) – northern buff-tailed sicklebill :Colombia and Ecuador. Bill longer, lower belly much streaked * ''Eutoxeres condamini gracilis'' Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1902 – southern buff-tailed sicklebill :Central Peru to Bolivia. Bill shorter, lower belly less streaked The buff outer remiges are the most reliable trait for separating the buff-tailed sicklebill from the only other member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Eutoxeres ''Eutoxeres'' is a genus of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fue ...

'', the

white-tipped sicklebill The white-tipped sicklebill (''Eutoxeres aquila'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. ...

(''E. aquila''), which has a more northerly distribution. The ''Eutoxeres'' species are somewhat

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

however, for example in the foothills of Putumayo around

Mocoa Mocoa () (Kamsá: Shatjok) is a municipality and capital city of the department of Putumayo in Colombia. The city is located in the northwest of the Putumayo department Putumayo () is a department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-w ...

, Colombia.

Ecology

It is restricted to the undergrowth of

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depen ...

forested and wooded

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, recorded from

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. It will tolerate more habitat disturbance than its congener, regularly occurring in

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

stands and open habitat where populations are healthy, though it still prefers natural vegetation. Nothing precise is known about its movements, though it is presumed that the birds are non-migratory. The peculiar bill is an

adaption In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

to the shape of certain flowers, namely of the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Centropogon ''Centropogon'' is a plant genus in the family Campanulaceae. In systems where the Lobeliaceae are recognized as distinct, ''Centropogon'' is placed there. Selected species * '' Centropogon aequatorialis'' * '' Centropogon albostellatus'' * ' ...

'' and ''

Heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...

''. It feeds mainly 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 trappers check their lines of traps. Traplining is usually seen in species ...

. In addition to nectar, it will also catch small

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. The two white eggs are laid in a nest which is attached to the underside of a leaf, a few yards/meters above ground. In the southern Cordillera Oriental of Colombia, nest construction was observed in July or August, and in the lowlands of

Napo Province Napo () is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descendan ...

in January. Birds with enlarged

gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...

s were found in Peru from September to November. Only the female incubates; the incubation period is 16–18 days and the young

fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...

22–24 days after hatching. They start to breed when they are 1–2 years old. Generally fairly common though inconspicuous and easily overlooked, it is considered a species of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. This species is most easily seen in the mixed habitat of old and young forest and small-scale logging at the

Napo River The Napo River ( es, Río Napo) is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the east Andean volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi. The total length is . The river drains an area of . The mean annual discha ...

in eastern Ecuador.Hinkelmann (1999), BLI (2009)

Footnotes

References

* * Hinkelmannn, Christoph (1999): 3. Buff-tailed Sicklebill. ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.): ''

Handbook of 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. Th ...

'' (Volume 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds): 537, plate 45. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. * Salaman, Paul G.W.; Stiles, F. Gary; Bohórquez, Clara Isabel; Álvarez-R., Mauricio; Umaña, Ana María; Donegan, Thomas M. & Cuervo, Andrés M. (2002): New and noteworthy bird records from the east slope of the andes of Colombia. ''Caldasia'' 24(1): 157–189
PDF fulltext

External links

VIREO ttp://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Eutoxeres+condamini Photo-High Res-(Close-up) {{Taxonbar, from=Q1261602

buff-tailed sicklebill : Epimachus albertisi'', a bird-of-paradise from New Guinea, is also sometimes called "buff-tailed sicklebill".'' The buff-tailed sicklebill (''Eutoxeres condamini'') is a species of hermit hummingbird from the lower Andes and adjacent west Ama ...

Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Birds of the Ecuadorian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Andes Birds of the Peruvian Amazon