Violet-throated Starfrontlet

The violet-throated starfrontlet (''Coeligena violifer'') is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru and possibly Ecuador.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 2021Remsen, 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. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved February 1, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The violet-throated 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 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, 2022 Its taxonomy is otherwise unsettled. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC), the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy all treat it as one species with four subspecies. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats each of those subspecies as a separate species.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 subspecies are:

*''C. v. dichroura'' ("Huanuco" starfrontlet) Taczanowski (1874)
*''C. v. albicaudata'' ("Apurimac" starfrontlet) Schuchmann & Züchner (1998)
*''C. v. osculans'' ("Cuzco" starfrontlet) Gould (1871)
*''C. v. violifer'' ("Bolivian" starfrontlet) Gould (1846)

Description

All four subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet are long. All have long, straight, black bills, with the females' being longer than the males'. Both sexes of all subspecies have a white spot behind the eye. Both sexes have a forked tail, with the male's more deeply indented than the female's.del Hoyo, J., T. Züchner, N. Collar, P. F. D. Boesman, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Violet-throated Starfrontlet (''Coeligena violifer''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.vitsta1.01 retrieved 27 April 2022

Males of the nominate subspecies weigh and females . The male's head is blackish blue and the back shining bronzy green. The tail is orange-buff with small bronzy tips. The throat and upper breast are green with an iridescent violet spot on the throat. A thin gray band separates the upper breast from the green lower breast and cinnamon belly. The nominate female has a green head, a buff throat with green spots, and a darkish green breast.

Males of subspecies ''C. v. dichroura'' weigh and females about . Males have an emerald green forehead, a bluish throat patch, a whitish chest band, and a wide bronzy band at the end of the tail. The female is similar but without the throat patch.

Subspecies ''C. v. albicaudata'' weighs . Males have a bottle green head with an iridescent turquoise forehead and a shiny golden copper back. The outer tail feathers are whitish to pale green at the end and the others a darker green. The chin is moss green, the throat patch violet, the breast moss green, and the belly golden green. Females are similar to those of the nominate ''volifer'' but with the same tail colors as this subspecies' males.

Males of subspecies ''C. v. osculans'' weigh and females . Males have a greenish turquoise forehead and a dark shining green crown. The tail has a narrow bronzy band at the end. The throat spot is variable and the belly pale cinnamon. The female is similar but does not have the turquoise forehead or throat patch.

Distribution and habitat

According to the IOC and Clements taxonomies, the subspecies are distributed thus:

*''C. v. dichroura'' ("Huanoco"), the Andes of Ecuador's Loja Province south into Peru as far as the departments of Junín, Huánuco, and Lima (But see below.)
*''C. v. albicaudata'' ("Apurimac"), the Andean Apurímac River valley in the southern Peruvian departments of Ayacucho, Apurímac, and Cuzco
*''C. v. osculans'' ("Cuzco"), the Andes of Cuzco and Puno departments of southeastern Peru
*''C. v. violifer'' ("Bolivian"), the Andes of northwestern Bolivia's La Paz and Cochabamba departments (The map shows the range of only this subspecies.)

However, the SACC does not recognize any records of the species in Ecuador and HBW does not include Ecuador in the range of the "Huanuco" starfrontlet.

The four subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet differ somewhat in their habitats. ''C. v. dichroura'' is usually found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest but also in secondary forest, at elevations between . ''C. v. albicaudata'' is found in the understory of elfin forest between . ''C. v. osculans'', like ''dichroura'', is usually found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest but also in secondary forest, but at elevations between . ''C. v. violifer'' is also found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest and in secondary forest. In elevation it ranges between but is most common between .

Behavior

Movement

Data suggest that three of the violet-throated starfrontlet subspecies make seasonal elevational movements. There is no information on the movements of ''C. v. albicaudata''.

Feeding

The nominate subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet forages for nectar by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of a variety of flowering plants. Examples include genera ''Vriesea'', ''Bomarea'', and ''Fuchsia''. It tends to nectar the edges of vegetation. In addition to feeding on nectar it gleans small arthropods from vegetation and captures them by hawking. The feeding practices and diets of the other three subspecies have not been studied but are presumed to be similar to those of the nominate.

Breeding

The nominate subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet's breeding season is from November to January. That of ''C. v. albicaudata'' apparently begins in July or August. No further information is known about their breeding phenology or that of the other subspecies.

Vocalization

What is thought to be the song of the nominate subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet is "a mellow drawn-out whistle followed by three nasal notes 'drreeeuw…nyeh-nyeh-nyeh'." It also makes "very sweet and mellow" single or double notes. The presumed songs of both ''C. v. albicaudata'' and ''C. v. osculans'' are a "rhythmic phrase, 'wet-tsee-tser'" alternating with high-pitched notes, though they have slight differences. The song of ''C. v. dichroura'' is a "long series of single 'tchit' notes". In flight it gives "a jerky mix of squeaky notes and rattles".

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so treats the four subspecies as separate species. All are assessed as being of Least Concern, though their population sizes are not known and all are believed to be decreasing. All four have somewhat restricted ranges that at least in part are undergoing deforestation. However, "since he speciesinhabits open forest and clearings, it may accept these disturbed areas to some extent."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q837342

violet-throated starfrontlet
Birds of the Bolivian Andes
violet-throated starfrontlet
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot