Crowned woodnymph facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crowned woodnymph |
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Thalurania
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colombica
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The crowned woodnymph (Thalurania colombica), also called the violet-crowned woodnymph, is a beautiful type of hummingbird. These tiny, fast-flying birds are found in Central and South America, from Belize and Guatemala all the way down to northern Peru. They are known for their bright colors and quick movements.
Contents
About the Crowned Woodnymph
Naming and Types
The crowned woodnymph was first officially described in 1843 by a French scientist named Jules Bourcier. He gave it the scientific name Ornismya colombica. Later, it was placed in a different group, or genus, called Thalurania.
There are several different types, or subspecies, of the crowned woodnymph. These subspecies are slightly different from each other, often in their colors or where they live. For a while, some of these types were even thought to be completely separate species.
What They Look Like
Crowned woodnymphs are small birds. Male birds are about 9.5 to 11.5 cm (3.7 to 4.5 in) long and weigh around 4 to 5.5 g (0.14 to 0.19 oz). Females are a bit smaller, about 8.5 to 9.2 cm (3.3 to 3.6 in) long, and weigh 3.5 to 4.2 g (0.12 to 0.15 oz).
Male Woodnymphs
Adult males of the most common type (called the nominate subspecies) are very colorful. They have a bright violet forehead, crown (top of the head), upper back, and belly. Their neck area is a dark bronze-green, and their lower back is a dark bluish-green. Their throat and chest are a sparkling green. They have a deeply forked tail that is blue-black.
Female Woodnymphs
Adult females look different from the males. They have bright green upper parts. Their throat and chest are pale gray, and their belly is a darker gray. Their tail is blue-black, but the outer feathers have white tips.
Young Woodnymphs
Young males have a duller crown, throat, and underparts, with only a few shiny purple feathers. Young females have dull green upper parts and completely pale gray underparts.
Subspecies Differences
Different subspecies have slight variations in their colors. For example, some males might have a bronze neck or a green belly with violet on the sides. Some females might have darker gray underparts or a green shine. These small differences help scientists tell the subspecies apart.
Where They Live
Crowned woodnymphs live in various parts of Central and South America. Their different subspecies are found in specific regions:
- Eastern Guatemala and Belize to southeastern Honduras.
- Eastern Nicaragua to central Panama.
- Northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
- Northwestern Venezuela's Táchira state.
- Eastern Panama to southwestern Colombia.
- The Cauca Valley and nearby Andes mountains in west-central Colombia.
- The Pacific coast of extreme southwestern Colombia and western Ecuador.
- The Pacific lowlands of southern Ecuador and northwestern Peru.
These hummingbirds like to live inside and at the edges of humid forests. They also live in places like coffee and cacao farms and gardens. They avoid open, bushy areas.
How They Behave
Moving Around
Crowned woodnymphs move around a lot. In Costa Rica, they breed (have babies) near sea level up to about 900 m (3,000 ft) high. After breeding, they might move to higher areas, up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft). They also move locally to find flowering plants. In other areas, they breed at different heights, for example, up to 130 m (430 ft) in Panama, or between 1,600 and 2,000 m (5,200 and 6,600 ft) in Colombia and Venezuela.
What They Eat
Crowned woodnymphs mainly eat nectar from many different kinds of flowering plants. They look for nectar on plants that grow on trees (like epiphytes), large herbs, shrubs, and small trees. They usually feed in areas that are covered or partly open, not completely open spaces.
During the breeding season, males often feed high up in the trees, while females feed closer to the ground. Outside this season, both males and females feed at all levels. Both sexes will defend good sources of nectar. Studies show that females are often more aggressive than males in protecting their feeding spots.
Besides nectar, crowned woodnymphs also eat small arthropods (like insects or spiders). Both males and females catch these by "hawking," which means they fly out from a perch to catch insects in the air. They also pick prey from leaves, with females doing this more often than males.
Having Babies
The breeding season for crowned woodnymphs changes depending on where they live. It can be from February to June in Costa Rica, or almost any time of year in southwestern Colombia.
Their nest is shaped like a cup. It's made from treefern scales and soft plant material, held together with spiderwebs. They decorate the outside with lichen and moss. Nests are usually placed on a horizontal twig under a leaf, often about 5 m (20 ft) above the ground, but sometimes higher. A female usually lays two eggs. We don't know exactly how long the eggs take to hatch or how long it takes for the young birds to leave the nest.
Their Sounds
The song of the crowned woodnymph is described as a simple, sad, squeaky chip, like "ksit...ksit...ksit..". They also make short, dry chipping sounds, sometimes like a dry trill or chatter.
Their Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the crowned woodnymph as a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing. They live across a very large area, but their exact population size is unknown. Scientists believe their numbers might be slowly decreasing.
Even though a lot of their forest home in Central America and northern Colombia has been cut down, these birds seem to be able to live in forests that are broken up into smaller pieces. They are considered one of the most common forest hummingbirds in most of the places they live, though they are less common in Peru.
