Photo © by Jones Stanley Jones
Villa Carmen Lodge, outside of Pillcopata, Cusco Department, Peru, September 2018
- Lophornis delattrei
Identification
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Amazonia Lodge, Atalaya, Río Altos Madre de Dios, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, September 2018
6·4–7 cm (2½-2¾ in), bill 8mm, short and straight.
Male: long, rufous crest. Bronzy green above. Has a white band across the rump. Tail rufous. Throat metallic green with 3 white spots. Remaing underparts green, like back.
Female: No crest but has a dull rufous forecrown. Otherwise like male above. Throat a light orange/brown. Chest streaked bronze. Underparts dull green. Cinnamon tail with black subterminal band.
Distribution
Central and South America: found in South West Costa Rica locally through Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, to North Bolivia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- L.d. lessoni:
- Locally from south-western Costa Rica to Andes of central Colombia
- L.d. delattrei:
Locally from southern Ecuador to eastern Peru and northern Bolivia
Habitat
Borders of humid forest and secondary growth woodland. Also in nearby clearings.
Behaviour
Rare to Uncommon. Usually seen perched on an exposed branch or twig, quite often at moderate heights. Feeds quite low. Wags tail slowly up and down in flight. Looks like a large Bee!
Diet
Their main diet consists of nectar, from small flowering plants, also winged arthropods taken in flight.
Breeding
There is very little information available.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BF Member observations
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous-crested Coquette. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-crested_Coquette
