Violet-throated starfrontlet
The violet-throated starfrontlet is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru and possibly Ecuador.
Taxonomy and systematics
The violet-throated starfrontlet and most other members of genus Coeligena were at one time placed in genus Helianthea but have been in their current placement since the mid-1900s. Its taxonomy is otherwise unsettled. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee, and the Clements taxonomy all treat it as one species with four subspecies. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treats each of those subspecies as a separate species. The subspecies are:- C. v. dichroura Taczanowski
- C. v. albicaudata Schuchmann & Züchner
- C. v. osculans Gould
- C. v. violifer Gould
Description
All four subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet are long. All have long, straight, black bills, with the females' being longer than the males'. Both sexes of all subspecies have a white spot behind the eye. Both sexes have a forked tail, with the male's more deeply indented than the female's.Males of the nominate subspecies weigh and females. The male's head is blackish blue and the back shining bronzy green. The tail is orange-buff with small bronzy tips. The throat and upper breast are green with an iridescent violet spot on the throat. A thin gray band separates the upper breast from the green lower breast and cinnamon belly. The nominate female has a green head, a buff throat with green spots, and a darkish green breast.
Males of subspecies C. v. dichroura weigh and females about. Males have an emerald green forehead, a bluish throat patch, a whitish chest band, and a wide bronzy band at the end of the tail. The female is similar but without the throat patch.
Subspecies C. v. albicaudata weighs. Males have a bottle green head with an iridescent turquoise forehead and a shiny golden copper back. The outer tail feathers are whitish to pale green at the end and the others a darker green. The chin is moss green, the throat patch violet, the breast moss green, and the belly golden green. Females are similar to those of the nominate volifer but with the same tail colors as this subspecies' males.
Males of subspecies C. v. osculans weigh and females. Males have a greenish turquoise forehead and a dark shining green crown. The tail has a narrow bronzy band at the end. The throat spot is variable and the belly pale cinnamon. The female is similar but does not have the turquoise forehead or throat patch.
Distribution and habitat
According to the IOC and Clements taxonomies, the subspecies are distributed thus:- C. v. dichroura, the Andes of Ecuador's Loja Province south into Peru as far as the departments of Junín, Huánuco, and Lima
- C. v. albicaudata, the Andean Apurímac River valley in the southern Peruvian departments of Ayacucho, Apurímac, and Cuzco
- C. v. osculans, the Andes of Cuzco and Puno departments of southeastern Peru
- C. v. violifer, the Andes of northwestern Bolivia's La Paz and Cochabamba departments
The four subspecies of violet-throated starfrontlet differ somewhat in their habitats. C. v. dichroura is usually found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest but also in secondary forest, at elevations between. C. v. albicaudata is found in the understory of elfin forest between. C. v. osculans, like dichroura, is usually found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest but also in secondary forest, but at elevations between. C. v. violifer is also found at the edges and in clearings of cloudforest and elfin forest and in secondary forest. In elevation it ranges between but is most common between.