Mérida sunangel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mérida sunangel |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Heliangelus |
| Species: |
H. spencei
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| Binomial name | |
| Heliangelus spencei Bourcier, 1847
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| Synonyms | |
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Heliangelus amethysticollis spencei |
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The Mérida sunangel (Heliangelus spencei) is a beautiful type of hummingbird. It's a small, colorful bird. You can only find it in Venezuela, a country in South America. It belongs to a group of hummingbirds called "coquettes."
Contents
About the Mérida Sunangel
How Scientists Classify It
Scientists sometimes disagree about how to classify the Mérida sunangel. Some groups, like the International Ornithological Committee, say it is its own unique species. Other groups, like the South American Classification Committee, think it is a type of amethyst-throated sunangel. This means it would be a subspecies, not a separate species.
What Does It Look Like?
The Mérida sunangel is about 10 to 11 centimeters (4 to 4.3 inches) long. It has a straight, black beak.
Male Mérida Sunangel
Adult male sunangels are very striking. They have a light blue spot just above their beak. Their head is dark green, and their upper body shines with green feathers. The sides of their face have black ear feathers. Their throat and upper chest have a bright purple patch. This patch shimmers and has pinkish scales. Below this, there is a white band across their chest. The rest of their underside is yellowish or light buff, with round green spots. Their central tail feathers are dark green, and the outer ones are blackish. Sometimes, the outer tail feathers have pale tips.
Female Mérida Sunangel
Adult female sunangels look a bit different. They have less black on their face. Their throat is maroon with white and green scales. Their underside has fewer green spots than the male's and looks more yellowish. Young sunangels are thought to look similar to the females.
Where Does It Live?
The Mérida sunangel lives only in the Andes mountains. Specifically, you can find it in the Mérida state in northwestern Venezuela. It prefers open areas. These include the edges of shrubby forests, clearings within forests, and bushy pastures. It lives at high elevations, usually between 2,000 and 3,600 meters (6,560 and 11,800 feet) above sea level.
Mérida Sunangel Behavior
Movement and Travel
The Mérida sunangel does not travel far. It stays in the same area all year round. Scientists call this being "sedentary."
What Does It Eat?
We don't know a lot about what the Mérida sunangel eats. However, scientists believe its diet is similar to its close relative, the Longuemare's sunangel. That species eats nectar from flowers. It also eats insects.
These hummingbirds often protect areas with many flowers. They feed at heights up to 6 meters (20 feet), often near streams. They catch insects by flying out from a perch to snatch them in the air. This is called "hawking."
Reproduction and Nests
Only one Mérida sunangel nest has ever been found. It was discovered in June. The nest was a soft, cup-shaped structure. It was built on a small root under an overhang on a road cut. The nest held two white eggs. We don't know much else about how these birds reproduce.
How Does It Communicate?
The Mérida sunangel has a special call. It sounds like a "repeated, high-pitched, cricket-like, short trill." It makes this sound both when it is sitting on a branch and when it is flying.
Status of the Mérida Sunangel
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the Mérida sunangel. They have listed it as "Least Concern." This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing. However, we don't know how many of these birds there are or if their numbers are changing.
The Mérida sunangel lives in a small area. But about three-fifths of this area is in protected lands. The main threats to this bird are farms expanding into its habitat. Also, its habitat is becoming broken up into smaller pieces.
See also
In Spanish: Colibrí de Mérida para niños
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