The violet-crowned hummingbird (''Ramosomyia violiceps'') is a

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 "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The violet-crowned hummingbird was formerly placed in the genus ''

Amazilia ''Amazilia'' is a hummingbird genus in the subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical Central and South America. Taxonomy The genus ''Amazilia'' was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist René Lesson. Lesson had used ''amazilia'' i ...

''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2014 found that ''Amazilia'' was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the violet-crowned hummingbird was one of three species moved to the resurrected genus ''

Leucolia ''Ramosomyia'' is a genus in family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds, that was created in 2021 to replace ''Leucolia''. Taxonomy and species list The genus contains three species: *Violet-crowned hummingbird, ''Ramosomyia violiceps'' * Green-fr ...

'' by some taxonomic systems. However, a study published in 2021 showed that ''Leucolia'' was not available because of the

principle of priority 270px, '' valid name. Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two asp ...

. The authors proposed the new genus ''Ramosomyia'' and in mid-2022 it was adopted by the North American Classification Committee of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

and the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

. As of that date the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

retains the species in ''Leucolia'' 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 ...

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 ...

in the earlier ''Amazilia''.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021 The violet-crowned hummingbird has two subspecies, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

''R. v. violiceps'' and ''R. v. ellioti''.

Description

The violet-crowned hummingbird is long and weighs . Both sexes of both subspecies have a bright red bill, sometimes with a black tip. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have an intense violet-blue crown, a bluish violet hindneck, and dull grayish brown to greenish brown back and rump. Their tail is coppery bronze. Their underside from throat to 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 ...

is pure white with light olive green flanks. Adult females are virtually identical, though in general somewhat duller overall. Males of subspecies ''R. v. ellioti'' are similar to the nominate. However, their crown is more turquoise blue and their tail greenish bronze. Females again are almost identical but duller.Wethington, S. M. (2021). Violet-crowned Hummingbird (''Leucolia violiceps''), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (Editor not available). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.vichum.01.1 retrieved August 10, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The violet-crowned hummingbird's subspecies ''R. v. ellioti'' is the more northern. It is found from southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south into Mexico to

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

and

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

and possibly as far as the states of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

and

México Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In Arizona and New Mexico it occurs almost entirely between . In

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

it occurs between and extends its elevational range further south. The nominate ''A. v. violiceps'' is found from extreme eastern and southern Michoacán south into northwestern

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

. In this southern part of its range it is typically found between but ranges overall from sea level to . The nominate and the southerly population of ''ellioti'' inhabit a variety of landscapes including

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

corridors in thorn scrub, deciduous and pine-oak forest, fields, orchards, and urban and suburban parks and gardens.

Behavior

Movement

The violet-crowned hummingbird's populations in the U.S. and well into

and

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

are mostly migratory, but some individuals have overwintered as far north as Arizona. The increasing numbers of breeding and non-breeding observations in the U.S. suggest that the species "is best viewed as a wanderer that is expanding its range northward." From southern Sonora and Chihuahua it is essentially sedentary, though it appears to makes some movements to follow food resources.

Feeding

The violet-crowned hummingbird forages for nectar while hovering; it feeds from a wide variety of flowering plants and shrubs. Where flowers are plentiful it and other hummingbirds appear to feed with little

agonistic An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agon ...

behavior but where they are scarce this species attempts to defend flower patches from smaller hummingbirds. In addition to nectar, it feeds on small insects by

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

from a perch and also by hover-gleaning from vegetation.

Breeding

In Arizona and New Mexico the violet-crowned hummingbird breeds from April to September. There it nests mostly in Arizona sycamore (''

Platanus wrightii ''Platanus wrightii'', the Arizona sycamore, is a sycamore tree native to Arizona and New Mexico with its range extending south into the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa.Laferriere, J.E. Platanaceae, "Sycamore or Plane Tree Famil ...

''). In Mexico it breeds mostly between March and August but individuals have been seen nesting at almost any time of year. Little is known about its nesting habits there. The species' nests themselves vary somewhat depending on available plant material. In general they are cups of soft plant down bound with spiderweb with lichen on the outside. The only known clutches were of two eggs. The incubation length and time to fledging are not known.

Vocalization

One description of the violet-crowned hummingbird's song is "a series of very high, thin, descending notes ''seew seew seew seew seew''". It is sung from an exposed perch. One of its calls is described as "a rather dry ''tak'' or ''chap'' or as a hard ''chip'', ''stik'' or ''tik''", and it makes a wide variety of other calls when interacting with other hummingbirds.

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 violet-crowned hummingbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and its estimated population of two million mature individuals is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.

References

External links

Violet-crowned hummingbird photo
desertmuseum.org,

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a 98-acre (40 ha) zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, publisher, and art gallery founded in 1952. Located just west of Tucson, Arizona, it features two miles (3.2 km) of walking paths ...

Birds of Mexico Birds of Guatemala Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Hummingbird species of Central America Hummingbird species of North America Birds described in 1859 Taxa named by John Gould Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Ramosomyia