The coppery metaltail (''Metallura theresiae'') is a species of

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 ...

in the "coquettes", tribe

Lesbiini Lesbiini is one of the two tribes that make up the subfamily Lesbiinae in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other tribe is Heliantheini (brilliants). The informal name "coquettes" has been proposed for this group as the largest genus, ''L ...

of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to 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 27 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The coppery metaltail has two subspecies, the nominate ''M. t. theresiae'' and ''M. t. parkeri''.

Description

The coppery metaltail is long and weighs about . It has a medium length, straight, black bill. The adult male of the nominate subspecies has reddish bronze to reddish coppery upperparts with a greenish tone to the rump and uppertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

. Its slightly forked tail is bronze green with violet reflections on its upper side and shining bronze green on its underside. The sides of its head and neck are reddish bronze and its narrow

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...

is glittering golden green. The rest of its underparts are a somewhat less reddish bronze green than the upperparts. The adult female is a duller version of the male and its gorget is smaller. Juveniles do not have gorget. Subspecies ''M. t. parkeri'' is similar to the nominate but its uppersides are not as reddish and the underside of its tail is a brighter golden green.Schulenberg, T. S. (2020). Coppery Metaltail (''Metallura theresiae''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.copmet1.01 retrieved March 5, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of coppery metaltail is found on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes from east of the Marañón River south into Huánuco Department. ''M. t. parkeri'' is known only from the Cordillera de Colán in Peru's Amazonas Department. Like most of the metaltails, the species inhabits the edges of elfin forest and ''

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

'', moist landscapes characterized by shrubby growth and small trees. In elevation it ranges between .

Behavior

Movement

The coppery metaltail is believed to be resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The coppery metaltail feeds mostly on nectar but details of its diet are lacking. Males defend feeding territories. In addition to nectaring, it catches small arthropods by sallies from a perch.

Breeding

The coppery metaltail's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

and nest have not been documented. Its breeding season appears to include August and September.

Vocalization

The coppery metaltail's vocalizations have been described as a "series of frail zeee calls, often alternating with ''ttrrrt'' notes" and also as "a jerky, wiry chatter similar to

hat of A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

Tyrian Metaltail The Tyrian metaltail (''Metallura tyrianthina'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Lesbiinae, the brilliants and coquettes. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbo ...

'Metallura tyrianthina'' but perhaps lower, less emphatic, with buzzier notes."

Status

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 ...

has assessed the coppery metaltail as being of Least Concern. Its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. It is deemed fairly common to locally very common. Though human density in its high elevation habitat is low, burning of ''páramo'' to create grazing pasture is a threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1268508 coppery metaltail Birds of the Peruvian Andes Endemic birds of Peru coppery metaltail Taxonomy articles created by Polbot