Wine-throated hummingbird facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wine-throated hummingbird
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Genus:	Selasphorus
Species:	S. ellioti
Binomial name
Selasphorus ellioti (Ridgway, 1878)
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Synonyms
Atthis ellioti

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The wine-throated hummingbird (Selasphorus ellioti) is a tiny, colorful bird. It belongs to the group of "bee hummingbirds." You can find this special bird in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

About Its Name

Scientists like to group animals to understand them better. The Wine-throated hummingbird is usually placed in a group called Selasphorus. However, some scientists use a different group name, Atthis. No matter the group, this bird has two main types, or subspecies: S. e. ellioti and S. e. selasphoroides.

What It Looks Like

This hummingbird is quite small, about 6.5 to 7 centimeters (2.5 to 2.7 inches) long. Females weigh about 2 to 4 grams (0.07 to 0.14 ounces). We don't have exact weights for the males. Both male and female birds have a short, straight, black beak. They also have a small white spot right behind their eye.

Male Birds

Male birds of the main type (S. e. ellioti) have shiny green feathers on their back. Their throat feathers, called a gorget, are a sparkling rose-pink with purple hints. These throat feathers can flare out. Their sides are a mix of cinnamon and green, and their belly is whitish. The two middle tail feathers are green. The other tail feathers are reddish-brown with a wide black band near the end. The very tips of the outer tail feathers are white.

Female Birds

Female birds of the main type also have green backs. Their chin and throat are white with many dark spots. Their upper chest is white, and the middle of their belly is whitish. Their sides and the feathers under their tail are cinnamon-colored. The female's tail has more black and less reddish-brown than the male's. The tips of her outer tail feathers are more cinnamon than white.

Different Subspecies

The other type, S. e. selasphoroides, is a bit smaller. Male birds of this type look similar to the main type. But their throat feathers don't have blue or purple colors. Sometimes, they even look green. Their bellies are more yellowish-brown than white. The tips of their outer tail feathers are also yellowish-brown. Female birds of this type have smaller shiny spots on their throat. Their sides and undertail feathers are yellowish-brown. The tips of their inner tail feathers are dark, and the outer ones are yellowish-brown.

Where It Lives

The main type of Wine-throated hummingbird, S. e. ellioti, lives further north. You can find it in southern Mexico and most of Guatemala. The S. e. selasphoroides type lives in western Honduras and northern El Salvador.

These birds like to live in mountains. They prefer forests with pine and oak trees, or evergreen forests. They can also be found at the edges of these forests or in open areas nearby. They live at heights between 1,500 and 3,500 meters (about 4,900 to 11,500 feet) above sea level.

Behavior

Feeding

The Wine-throated hummingbird mostly drinks nectar from different kinds of flowers. They feed at all levels of the trees and plants, but they especially like the low to middle parts. They hover in the air while they drink. Like most other hummingbirds, they probably also eat small insects.

Reproduction

Male Wine-throated hummingbirds try to attract females by singing from open branches. This is called a "lek" display. We don't know much about when they build nests or raise their young. However, it's possible their nesting season could be from August to February.

Sounds It Makes

The song of the Wine-throated hummingbird is a series of high, slightly buzzing, squeaky chirps that turn into a warble. They also make high, thin, sharp chirps, often repeated like "sip-sip" or "cheup cheup." When a male hummingbird hovers to feed or fights with other males, his wings make a "thrum" sound.

Status

The Wine-throated hummingbird is currently listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN. This means it's not in immediate danger of disappearing. It lives across a large area, and there are an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 adult birds. However, scientists believe this number might be going down. The government of Mexico considers it a "Threatened" species. This is because the mountain forests where it lives are being cut down for farming and grazing animals.