Longuemare's sunangel


Longuemare's sunangel is a hummingbird found in Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. It is closely related to the amethyst-throated sunangel, and species limits in this complex are unclear. The American Ornithological Society has not recognized the split.

Distribution and taxonomy

In the Handbook of the Birds of the World, Longuemare's sunangel is one of the four subspecies of the amethyst-throated sunangel: Longuemare's sunangel, H. c. clarisse in the Colombian Andes from Norte de Santander to the latitude of Bogotá; violiceps in the Sierra de Perijá ; H. c. verdiscutus in southeastern Norte de Santander, Colombia, and southern Táchira, Venezuela; and Mérida sunangel, H. c. spencei isolated in Mérida, Venezuela. The IOC continues to recognize both the Mérida sunangel and Longuemare's sunangel..

Description

This bird is long and weighs 5.3 grams, on average. The bill is short for a hummingbird—1.8 cm or 0.7 in long. The overall impression is of dark plumage.
Males are dark green above except that the crown is dull green. They have a narrow, glittering blue "frontlet" above the bill. Behind the eye is a bold white spot. They have a glittering pinkish-purple throat above a white crescent crossing the chest. The rest of the breast and belly is shining dark green mixed with gray. The undertail coverts are white. The tail is long and broad, bronze-green to blackish, with tiny white tips on the two outer feathers.
Females resemble males but are duller, and white feather bases may show in the throat.

Habitat

It inhabits forests, especially edges and openings, as well as brushy pastures and damp ravines with bushes;

Behavior

Longuemare's sunangel generally flies and perches fairly low. Along forest edges with rich patches of flowers such as Psammisia and similar plants of the heath family, it behaves territorially. However, within forests, it flies along "trap-lines" from one flowering vine, epiphyte, or shrub to the next. It feeds on nectar by hovering in front of flowers or clinging. In addition, it occasionally catches airborne insects in short flights. It feeds actively in the midst of mixed-species flocks when they pass.