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| Photo by Niels Dreyer (Internet Bird Collection) |
Common name:
wire-crested thorntail (en); bandeirinha-de-Popelaire (pt); coquette de Popelaire (fr); rabudito crestado (es); haubenfadenelfe (de)
Taxonomy:
Order Apodiformes
Family Trochilidae
Range:
This species is found along the eastern slopes of the Andes, from central Colombia to southern Peru.
Size:
These birds are sexually dimorphic. The females are 7,5-8 cm long, while the males are up to 11,5 cm long including the elongated tail feathers. They weigh about 2,5 g.
Habitat:
The wire-crested thorntail is found in moist tropical forests at altitudes of 400-1.200 m.
Diet:
They feed mainly on nectar, particularly of Inga trees, but also take some arthropods.
Breeding:
The is little information about the reproduction of wire-crested thorntails. One nest was found in Colombia, in April, placed at the end of a tree branch about 8 m above the ground.
Conservation:
IUCN status – NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a large breeding range but is described as generally rare to uncommon. Although there is no data on population trends, the wire-crested thorntail is suspected to lose 28% of suitable habitat within its range over the next decade based on a model of Amazonian deforestation, being therefore suspected to suffer a moderately rapid decline in the near future.
