Fiery-tailed awlbill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fiery-tailed awlbill |
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Avocettula
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recurvirostris
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The fiery-tailed awlbill (Avocettula recurvirostris) is a special type of hummingbird. It belongs to a group of hummingbirds called "mangoes." You can find this small bird in countries like Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
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About the Fiery-tailed Awlbill
What's in a Name?
The fiery-tailed awlbill is the only bird in its specific group, called Avocettula. It doesn't have any different types or subspecies. Scientists used to think it belonged to another group, but now they know it's unique!
How to Spot One
This hummingbird is about 8 to 10 centimeters (3 to 4 inches) long. That's roughly the length of a pen! It weighs around 4.3 grams, which is super light.
Its most interesting feature is its beak. It's short and has a tip that curves upwards, making it look very unique.
- Adult Males: They have green feathers on their upper body. Their throat is a shiny emerald green, and their belly is also emerald green with a black patch in the middle. The top of their tail is violet, except for the central feathers, which are green.
- Adult Females: They also have green upper parts. Their underside is white with a black stripe down the middle. Their tail is bluish-black, and the outer feathers have white tips.
- Young Birds: Baby fiery-tailed awlbills look a lot like the adult females. But the underside of their tail is a coppery red color.
Where They Live
The fiery-tailed awlbill lives in the Amazonia region of South America. You can find them from southeastern Venezuela, across the Guianas, and into northern Brazil. They also live as far west as Acre and as far east as Maranhão and Tocantins in Brazil. There's even a separate group of them living along the Napo River in eastern Ecuador. Sometimes, one might even fly into Colombia!
These birds mostly live in open, savanna-like areas within primary forest (forests that haven't been disturbed much). They especially like areas near granite rocks. You might also see them at the edges of low plants near rivers, in forests that lose some leaves, and in a type of grassland called cerrado.
How They Live
Staying Put
Scientists believe that the fiery-tailed awlbill usually stays in one place. It doesn't travel long distances or migrate.
What They Eat
The fiery-tailed awlbill is a "trap-line" feeder. This means it flies a regular path, visiting the same flowering plants over and over again to drink nectar. It really likes Clusia and Dioclea shrubs. It gets nectar by putting its beak into flowers or sometimes by poking a hole at the bottom of a flower to "steal" the nectar.
Besides nectar, it also eats small bugs like arthropods. It catches them while flying or picks them off the underside of leaves.
Reproduction and Nests
The time when fiery-tailed awlbills have babies changes depending on where they live. In Suriname, it's from September to December. In northern Brazil and French Guiana, it can be in July.
The female bird builds a small, cup-shaped nest. She uses soft plant materials and spider silk. She usually places it on a horizontal branch, about 5 to 12 meters (16 to 39 feet) above the ground. The female is the only one who sits on the two eggs to keep them warm until they hatch.
Sounds They Make
Scientists haven't recorded the fiery-tailed awlbill's song yet. But they do know its call! It sounds like a series of "tsik" notes, which the bird makes while flying or hovering in the air.
Their Future
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) first thought the fiery-tailed awlbill was "Near Threatened," meaning it might be in danger. But since 2004, they've changed its status to "Least Concern." This means it's not currently considered to be at high risk of disappearing.
We don't know exactly how many fiery-tailed awlbills there are, and their numbers seem to be going down. Even though they are found in many places, they are generally considered rare. They also need specific types of habitats to live. Luckily, they do live in some protected areas, which helps keep them safe.
