Venezuelan sylph facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Venezuelan sylph |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Aglaiocercus
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| Species: |
berlepschi
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The Venezuelan sylph (Aglaiocercus berlepschi) is a beautiful and rare hummingbird found only in Venezuela. It is currently listed as an Endangered species, meaning it is at high risk of disappearing forever. This tiny bird is part of a group of hummingbirds called "coquettes."
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About the Venezuelan Sylph
The Venezuelan sylph is a unique type of hummingbird. Scientists have studied it for a long time to understand how it relates to other birds. It belongs to a group of birds called Aglaiocercus, which also includes the long-tailed sylph and the Violet-tailed sylph. For a while, scientists wondered if these three birds were all the same species or different ones. Today, most experts agree that they are three separate species. The Venezuelan sylph is considered a "monotypic" species, which means it doesn't have any subspecies.
What Does It Look Like?
The male Venezuelan sylph is quite striking! It can be about 22 cm (8.7 in) long. A big part of that length comes from its two very long outer tail feathers, which can be 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long. Males weigh about 5.5 grams (0.19 oz). They have a shiny dark green head and a bright green back. Their throat has a sparkling blue patch, and their belly is a bronzy green with fluffy white feathers on their thighs. The inner tail feathers are short and blue-green, while the long outer ones are deep violet turning blue at the tips.
Female Venezuelan sylphs are smaller, about 9.5 to 11 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) long, and weigh around 4.5 grams (0.16 oz). They have a glittering blue head, but their upper body is similar to the male's. Their throat, chest, and belly are white with green spots. Their tail is short and slightly forked, blue-green with white tips on the outer feathers. Both males and females have a short, black beak. Young birds look a lot like adult females.
Where Does It Live?
The Venezuelan sylph lives in a very specific area in northeastern Venezuela. You can find it where the states of Sucre, Monagas, and Anzoátegui meet. It lives in two mountain ranges: the eastern Cordillera de Caripe and the western Serranía de Turimiquire. These birds prefer humid, subtropical forests and scrublands on the sides of coastal mountains. They usually live at elevations between 1,450 and 1,800 meters (4,760 and 5,910 ft) above sea level.
How Does It Behave?
Movement and Daily Life
The Venezuelan sylph is a "sedentary" bird. This means it doesn't travel far or migrate to different places. It stays in its mountain home all year round.
What Does It Eat?
Like most hummingbirds, the Venezuelan sylph loves to drink nectar from flowers. It gets nectar from flowering vines, shrubs, and trees, especially from a type of tree called Inga. These birds are smart about finding food. They often use a method called "trap-lining," where they fly a regular path between different flowering plants. They also protect their favorite feeding spots from other birds. Besides nectar, they also eat insects, which they catch by "hawking." This means they wait on a perch and then fly out to snatch insects in the air. Venezuelan sylphs usually feed alone or in pairs, but sometimes several birds will gather at a tree with many flowers.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The breeding season for the Venezuelan sylph is from August to January. During this time, the female builds a dome-shaped nest, often hidden among epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants). She then lays and incubates her eggs. Not much else is known about how these birds raise their young, so there's still a lot for scientists to discover!
What Sounds Does It Make?
The Venezuelan sylph has a distinct song. It sounds like a continuous series of buzzing notes, often described as "bzzt...bzzt...bzzt..." It also makes a high-pitched, rising twittering sound, like "tititi-teetsee..see..seee."
Why Is It Endangered?
The Venezuelan sylph is classified as an Endangered species by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). This is because its population is very small, possibly as few as 1,500 adult birds, and it is believed to be shrinking. The bird lives in a very small area, and its habitat is being lost. People are cutting down forests to create land for farming and raising animals.
Even though some areas where it lives are supposed to be protected, like Cueva del Guácharo National Park and Macizo Montañoso del Turimiquire Protective Zone, these protections are not always strong enough. Deforestation, or the clearing of forests, continues in these areas, which puts the Venezuelan sylph at even greater risk. Protecting its home is crucial for this beautiful hummingbird to survive.
See also
In Spanish: Silfo de Berlepsch para niños
