Bronzy inca facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bronzy inca |
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Coeligena
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coeligena
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The bronzy inca (Coeligena coeligena) is a beautiful type of hummingbird. These tiny, colorful birds are found in South America, living in countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. They are known for their unique bronzy-brown feathers.
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What is a Bronzy Inca?
The bronzy inca is a special kind of hummingbird. It belongs to a group of hummingbirds sometimes called "brilliants." Scientists have studied these birds for a long time. The bronzy inca and many other birds in its group were once placed in a different family. However, since the middle of the 1900s, they have been in their current scientific group, Coeligena.
There are six different types, or subspecies, of the bronzy inca:
- C. c. ferruginea
- C. c. columbiana
- C. c. coeligena (this is the main type)
- C. c. zuliana
- C. c. obscura
- C. c. boliviana
How to Spot a Bronzy Inca
The bronzy inca is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long, which is about the length of your hand. Males usually weigh around 7.3 g (0.26 oz), and females are a bit lighter at about 6.2 g (0.22 oz).
Both male and female bronzy incas have a long, straight, black beak. Sometimes, the male's beak has a little yellow at the bottom. The female's beak is also black and straight, but it's usually a bit longer than the male's.
Compared to some other hummingbirds, the bronzy inca has more subtle colors. While some hummingbirds are super flashy, the bronzy inca has a more natural, bronzy-brown look.
Colors and Markings
Adult male bronzy incas are mostly a dark bronzy-brown color. They have a slight maroon shine on their upper body. Their lower back often looks greenish. You can spot a small white patch behind their eyes.
Their throat and chest have white spots mixed with dusky gray streaks. The rest of their belly is a reddish-brown color. Their tail is forked, meaning it splits into two points, and it's a bronze color.
Female bronzy incas look very similar to males. The main differences are their slightly longer beak and a tail that is not as deeply forked. Young bronzy incas look a lot like the adult females.
Different subspecies can have slightly different looks:
- The C. c. zuliana type is a bit more green and less bronze.
- C. c. columbiana is smaller and has more of an olive shade.
- C. c. ferruginea is similar to the main type but has less white on its throat.
- C. c. obscura is the darkest, with a blackish back and a gray throat instead of white.
- C. c. boliviana has dark green spots on its head and a bronzy-blackish-purple tail.
Where Do They Live?
Bronzy incas live in the Andes mountains, a huge mountain range in South America. Each subspecies lives in a specific area:
- C. c. ferruginea lives in the Central and Western Andes of Colombia.
- C. c. columbiana is found from northwestern Venezuela down into Colombia's Eastern Andes.
- C. c. coeligena lives in northern Venezuela.
- C. c. zuliana is in a mountain range called Serranía del Perijá, in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
- C. c. obscura lives on the eastern side of the Andes, from Colombia through Ecuador and Peru.
- C. c. boliviana is on the eastern side of the Andes in central and southeastern Bolivia.
These hummingbirds mostly live at the edges of humid forests in the mountains. They also like open areas with scattered trees and even coffee farms. You can find them at elevations between 1,500 and 2,600 m (4,900 and 8,500 ft) above sea level.
Bronzy Inca Behavior
Bronzy incas are active birds! They make some seasonal movements, meaning they might move to different areas depending on the time of year, but scientists are still learning more about these travels.
What Do They Eat?
Bronzy incas mainly drink nectar from flowers. They are very smart about it! They follow a specific route, visiting a circuit of many different flowering plants. This is called "trap-lining." They usually feed in the middle parts of the forest, but sometimes they go up to the very tops of the trees.
Besides nectar, they also catch small insects and spiders. They do this by "hawking," which means they fly out to catch insects in the air, or by "hover-gleaning," where they hover near leaves to pick off tiny creatures.
Family Life
The breeding season for the bronzy inca is from November to March. The female builds a cup-shaped nest using moss and plant fibers. She usually hides it well in plants, about 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft) off the ground.
The female is the only one who takes care of the eggs. She lays two eggs and sits on them for about 15 to 16 days. The baby birds are ready to leave the nest about 22 to 24 days after they hatch.
How They Communicate
What scientists think is the bronzy inca's song is a continuous series of sweet, single "tseet" notes. When they are flying, their calls often sound like single "tsee" or "tzeet" notes.
Bronzy Inca Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the bronzy inca and decided it is a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently worried about it becoming endangered.
The bronzy inca lives across a very large area. Even though we don't know the exact number of these birds, their population seems to be stable. They live in several protected areas, and they can even adapt to some areas changed by humans, like coffee farms. This means that losing forests is not a major threat to them right now.
