The neblina metaltail (''Metallura odomae''), locally called metalura neblina or colibrí de neblina, 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 found in 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 27 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The neblina metaltail was described in 1980 following expeditions sponsored by Louisiana State University's Museum of Zoology. The species is monotypic.

Description

The neblina metaltail is long. Males weigh about and females about . It has a medium length, straight, black bill. The adult male has iridescent dark green upperparts. Its slightly forked tail is dark olive green on its upper side and shining golden green on its underside. The sides of its head and neck vary from bronzy olive to coppery bronze and its

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 reddish purple to rosy red. The rest of its underparts are olive bronze with a buffy spotted appearance. Its undertail

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 ...

are bronzy green with buffy cinnamon edges. The adult female is a duller version of the male. Its throat is spotted with rosy red and the rest of its underparts are tan with heavy bronzy spotting.Schulenberg, T. S. (2020). Neblina Metaltail (''Metallura odomae''), 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.nebmet1.01 retrieved March 4, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The neblina metaltail is found from the northern part of

Podocarpus National Park Podocarpus National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Podocarpus) is a national park located in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja Province, Loja, in the south-east of Ecuador. It was created in 1982. It covers 1462.80 km2, from two spur ...

in Ecuador's

Loja Province Loja Province () is one of 24 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mer ...

south to northern

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

and

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

departments in Peru. It 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. ("Neblina" is Spanish for fog or mist.) In elevation it ranges between and is most common between .

Behavior

Movement

The neblina metaltail is resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The neblina 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

Very little is known about the neblina 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 ...

. The only nest was found in August; a female was on it. The nest was a cup made mostly from moss with lichens on the outside placed in a small cavity on a rock face.

Vocalization

The neblina metaltail's vocalizations have variously been described as "a rather loud ''seet-seet-seet-ti-tttt''...and 'a jerky, wiry chatter'."

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 ...

originally assessed the neblina metaltail as Threatened. The assessment was changed to Near Threatened in 2004 and to the present Least Concern in 2012. Though its population is estimated at fewer than 6700 mature individuals and is believed to be decreasing, much of its range is remote, protected, and not severely fragmented. It is considered fairly common in much of its range but local in Ecuador.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1261221 neblina metaltail Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Birds of the Peruvian Andes neblina metaltail Taxonomy articles created by Polbot