The dusky starfrontlet (''Coeligena orina''), also known as glittering starfrontlet, is an

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe

Heliantheini Heliantheini is one of the two tribes that make up the subfamily Lesbiinae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other tribe in the subfamily is Lesbiini. The informal name "brilliants" has been proposed for this group as it includes the ge ...

in subfamily

Lesbiinae Lesbiinae is one of the six subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into two tribes: Heliantheini ("brilliants") containing 14 genera and Lesbiini ("coquettes") containing 18 genera. Phylogeny A mo ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to a few small areas in western Colombia.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 dusky starfrontlet was originally known from a single museum specimen collected in 1951 and described as a full species in 1953. In 1988 its status was reassessed as a subspecies of

golden-bellied starfrontlet The golden-bellied starfrontlet (''Coeligena bonapartei'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of th ...

(''Coeligena bonapartei''). It was rediscovered in 2004, in what is now the

Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve Hummingbird of the Sun, known in Spanish as Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve, is a 731 ha nature reserve in Colombia. It lies at the base of the Páramo del Sol volcanic massif west of the city of Medellín in the Antioquia Department, Department o ...

, and additional specimens confirmed its identity as a species. It and the buff-winged starfrontlet (''C. lutetiae'') are

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

and it is also closely related to the golden-bellied, violet-throated (''C. violifer''), and blue-throated (''C. helianthea'') starfrontlets.Remsen, 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 31 January 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved February 1, 2022del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, G. M. Kirwan, C. J. Sharpe, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Dusky Starfrontlet (''Coeligena orina''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.dussta1.01 retrieved 28 April 2022 The dusky starfrontlet is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

Description

The dusky starfrontlet is about long. Males weigh and females . The male has a glittering blue-green to golden green forehead and a velvety black crown, face, and mantle. The back is green with black highlights, 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 s ...

iridescent golden green, and the tail a paler green. The throat and breast are dark green, like the back suffused with black, and there is a large cobalt-blue spot on the lower throat. The belly and undertail

are the same golden green as the rump. The female's crown, face, and upper back are green with blackish tips to the feathers that give a scaly effect. The rump, uppertail coverts, and tail are like the male's but with less iridescence. The throat is a bright cinnamon buff with green spots on the sides, the belly iridescent golden green with dusky inclusions, and the undertail coverts dull golden green with buffy edges. One Spanish name for the dusky starfrontlet is "Colibrí del Sol", which translates to "hummingbird of the Sun".

Distribution and habitat

The dusky starfrontlet is found in only about a dozen sites in a few small areas of the Western Andes of Colombia. The original 1951 specimen and some of the 2004 ones were collected at Páramo de Frontino, Antioquia Department. Others were collected in 2004 at nearby Las Orquídeas National Natural Park in Farallones del Citará on the Antioquia/ Chocó border. Further observations have come from

Jardín Jardín ( en, Garden), often mistakingly referred to as El Jardín, is a town and municipality in the southwest region of Antioquia, Colombia. It is bounded by the Andes, Jericó, and Támesis municipalities to the north and the Caldas depart ...

in Antioquia and Cerro Montezuma in

Risaralda Department Risaralda () or "Rizaralde", is a landlocked department of Colombia. It is located in the western central region of the country and part of the Paisa Region. Its capital is Pereira. It was divided from the department of Caldas in 1966. Risar ...

. Specimens and sight records of dusky starfrontlet have come from tall humid forest,

elfin forest Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air hu ...

, and the

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

between forest and '' páramo''. Most observations have been between about of elevation, but there is one record from .

Behavior

Movement

No movements of the dusky starfrontlet are definitely known, but the sighting at 2500 m might indicate that some take place.

Feeding

The dusky starfrontlet has been observed feeding on nectar at plants of genera ''Aetanthus'', ''Bejaria'', ''Bomarea'', ''Cavendishia'', and ''Centropogon''. Stomachs of specimens have yielded spiders, wasps, flies, and what appeared to be a psocopteran.

Breeding

Little is known about the dusky starfrontlet's breeding phenology. Two nests are known, both from

Tatamá National Natural Park Tatamá National Natural Park (Spanish: ''Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá'' or ''PNN Tatamá'') is a national park in the Cordillera Occidental, Colombia. Established in 1987, the park encompasses of primary west-Andean tropical and subtropic ...

. They were held by thin roots on rock faces about above the ground. Each contained two eggs. Immature birds have been reported in both January and August.

Vocalization

A few dusky starfrontlet vocalizations have been described, a "high-pitched wiry note becoming trill-like towards the end 'tseeririrrr', a single 'tsee' and a lower-pitched strident 'tsip'."

Status

The IUCN originally assessed the dusky starfrontlet in 2004 as being of Least Concern but in 2007 revised its status to Critically Endangered. In 2020 the status was again revised, to Endangered. Its population is estimated at between 250 and 2500 mature individuals and is believed to be declining. Even in national parks, continued deforestation for timber, agriculture, and settlement is a threat. The high probablity of future mining for gold, zinc, and copper in Páramo de Frontino poses an additional threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q548673 dusky starfrontlet Birds of the Colombian Andes Endemic birds of Colombia Páramo fauna Endangered animals Endangered biota of South America dusky starfrontlet Taxa named by Alexander Wetmore Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the northwestern Andean montane forests