The rainbow-bearded thorn bill

Fromi- Wikipediya

By Vinuri Randhula Silva

The rainbow-bearded thorn bill (Chalcostigma herrani) is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The rainbow-bearded thorn bill is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long. Males weigh about 6.2 g (0.22 oz) and females 5.6 g (0.20 oz). Both sexes have a short, needle-like bill. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly bottle green with a white dot behind the eye and rufous fore crown and crown. It has black primaries, a coppery rump, and white under tail coverts. The forked tail is blue-black with prominent white tips at the corners that are most easily seen from below. Its gorget ("beard") is a rainbow of colors from celadon-green through turquoise to yellow and red at the lower end. The feet are black. Adult females are generally similar to males, but with pale yellowish-ochre from lower the belly to the under tail coverts and a much reduced gorget. Juvenile birds are similar to the adult female, but the male has an entirely dark throat. Subspecies C. h. tolimae is very similar to the nominate but is darker overall and its gorget is longer.

Distribution

The nominate subspecies of rainbow-bearded thorn bill is found from the Western Andes of Colombia in Cauca Department through Ecuador on both slopes of the Andes into northern Peru's departments of Piura and Cajamarca. C. h. tolimae is restricted to Nevado del Tolima in Colombia's Central Andes. A bird of high elevations, it is typically found between 2,700 and 4,100 m (8,900 and 13,500 ft) in Colombia and 2,800 and 3,700 m (9,200 and 12,100 ft) in Ecuador. Its primary habitat is paramo, open country with bushy patches and small woodlands, and gulleys with thickets of ferns and bromeliads

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