Green-bearded helmetcrest

The green-bearded helmetcrest (Oxypogon guerinii) is a species of hummingbird endemic to Colombia. It is found in the Eastern Andes / Cordillera Oriental at altitudes from 3000 to 5200m.[2] In July 2014, the IUCN Red List has classed the green-bearded helmetcrest as Least Concern.[1]

Green-bearded helmetcrest
Male showing chin stripe
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Oxypogon
Species:
O. guerinii
Binomial name
Oxypogon guerinii
(Boissonneau, 1840)
Synonyms

Ornismya guerinii (protonym)

Taxonomy

The green-bearded helmetcrest was formally described in 1840 by the French ornithologist Auguste Boissonneau from a specimen collected near Bogotá in central Colombia.[3][4] This species is now placed in the genus Oxypogon that was introduced by the English ornithologist John Gould in 1848.[5][6] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek oxy meaning ″sharp or pointed″ and pogon meaning beard. The species name was chosen to honour the French naturalist and collector Félix Guérin-Méneville.[7] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[6]

This bird was formerly considered a species named bearded helmetcrest with four subspecies. In 2014 the South America Classification Committee agreed to a proposal to split this species into four separate species based on plumage differences and morphometrics.[8] The other species are the buffy helmetcrest of the Cordillera Central, the blue-bearded helmetcrest of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the white-bearded helmetcrest of the Cordillera de Mérida in Venezuela.[6][9]

Description

A medium-sized hummingbird. The male has a long crest and a black face outlined in white. Females and juvenile birds lack the crest, and show a broad white band across the chest. The chin and throat of both sexes are white with adult males showing a viridian green ″beard″ or stripe. The upperparts are bronzy-olive green. The bird has a short needle-shaped bill and grey feet.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The bird is a resident breeding species of the high Eastern Andes, principally in the area from south of Bogotá through Boyacá Department and as far north as Bucaramanga.[1]

It feeds on low vegetation, including fields planted with garlic, onion and other crops. It is most often seen in the páramo, where it perches to feed on the flowers of Espeletia.[2] It is thought that the short, fine bill of this bird and the other Oxypogon species is an adaption to facilitate the extracting of nectar from the numerous tiny florets of the flower heads of these plants.[10]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2014). Oxypogon guerinii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2
  2. Restall, Robin; Rodner, Clemencia; Lentino, Miguel (2007). Birds of Northern South America: an Identification Guide. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. Vol 1 p268. ISBN 978-0-300-10862-0.
  3. Boissonneau, Auguste (1840). "Oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus de Santa-Fé de Bogota". Revue Zoologique (in French). 3: 2–18 [7].
  4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 122.
  5. Gould, John (1848). "Drafts for a new arrangement of the Trochilidae". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part 16 (180): 11-14 [14].
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  7. Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 180, 287. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. South American Classification Committee. "Recent Changes since 1 March 2005". Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. Collar, Nigel J.; Salaman, Paul (2013). "The taxonomic and conservation status of the Oxypogon helmetcrests" (PDF). Conservación Colombiana. 19: 31–38.
  10. Stiles, F. Gary (2008). "Ecomorphology and phylogeny of hummingbirds: divergence and convergence in adaptations to high elevations". Ornitologia Neotropical (19 (Supplement)): 511–520.


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