The golden-bellied starfrontlet (''Coeligena bonapartei'') 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 "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to

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 ...

.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The golden-bellied starfrontlet and most other members of genus ''Coeligena'' were at one time placed in genus ''Helianthea'' but have been in their current placement since the mid-1900s.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 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023 The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the Clements taxonomy, and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

's ''

Handbook of the 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. T ...

'' recognize the golden-bellied starfrontlet as a monotypic species separate from the

Perija starfrontlet The Perija starfrontlet (''Coeligena consita'') is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of t ...

(''C. consita'') and

golden-tailed starfrontlet The golden-tailed starfrontlet (''Coeligena eos'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Venezuela. It is also called the Merida starfrontlet and golden starfrontlet.HBW and ...

(''C. eso'').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, 2022 The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society treats those three as subspecies of the golden-bellied starfrontlet '' sensu lato'' but is seeking poposals to elevate all three to species status. The golden-bellied starfrontlet's

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

commemorates

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

Description

The golden-bellied starfrontlet is about long including its bill. Males weigh an average of and females . Both sexes have a white spot behind the eye. Males have a blackish crown with a glittering green forehead. Their upper back is shining dark green that transitions through greenish copper to the golden orange rump. The throat and breast are glittering green and the throat has a small violet patch. The rest of the underparts are variable, from glittering copper to reddish gold. The slightly forked tail is golden bronzy green. The female's forehead is plain green; the rest of the upperparts are colored like the male's but are duller. The throat is plain buff and has green spots on its sides. The breast is mottled buff and green. The rest of the underparts are mostly cinnamon with a reddish gold belly and a coppery gold vent area. The tail feathers are bronze and sometimes have buff tips.Palacios, C. (2020). Golden-bellied Starfrontlet (''Coeligena bonapartei''), 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.gobsta1.01 retrieved 1 February 2023

Distribution and habitat

The golden-bellied starfrontlet is found in the Eastern Andes of Colombia between

Boyacá Department Boyacá () is one of the thirty-two departments of Colombia, and the remnant of Boyacá State, one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia". Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the moun ...

and the

Metropolitan Area of Bogotá Metropolitan Area of Bogotá is the metropolitan area of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá, usually used for statistical analysis or technical use. It is not a formal administrative division and its limits are therefore not defined. The stud ...

. The species primarily inhabits the interior and edges of humid montane forest. It also occurs in dwarf forest and more open landscapes with scattered vegetation. In elevation it ranges from .

Behavior

Movement

The golden-bellied starfrontlet is a year-round resident.

Feeding

The golden-bellied starfrontlet gathers nectar from tubular flowers, usually at low to medium heights. It primarily feeds by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of flowering plants. In addition to feeding on nectar it captures small arthropods by gleaning from foliage, hovering, and by hawking.

Breeding

The golden-bellied starfrontlet's breeding season is not known in detail but appears to span from January to possibly July. Its nest, eggs, incubation length, and time to fledging have not been described.

Vocalization

Few recordings of the golden-bellied starfrontlet are available. Its vocalizations are known to include "a short twitter and a more complex chatter that rises and falls in pitch."

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 golden-bellied starfrontlet as being of Least Concern. It has a small range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been indentified. "The distribution coincides with areas of new human settlements and areas of interest for minerals exploitation, and it does not occur in any protected areas."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q775682 golden-bellied starfrontlet Birds of the Colombian Andes golden-bellied starfrontlet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot