Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata)

Identification & Behavior: ~10 cm (4 in). The male Fork-tailed Woodnymph has an iridescent green throat and upper breast. The rest of the underparts are iridescent deep blue. The tail is blueish and forked. The upperparts are dull green. The female has green upperparts and mostly gray underparts with green on the sides of the breast and belly. The tail is dusky and square with white tips. The bill is slightly decurved and black. The female is superficially similar to the Gray-breasted Sabrewing, but is distinguished by smaller size, and much smaller white tail tips.

Status: The Fork-tailed Woodnymph is fairly common in Amazonia where it generally ranges below 1400 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Ninfa de Cola Ahorquillada.

Sub-species: Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata viridipectus) Gould, 1848. E foothills of Andes and adjacent lowlands of E Colombia, E Ecuador and NE Peru (N of R Marañón).
(T. f. jelskii), Taczanowski, 1874. Most of E Peru and adjacent W Brazil.
(T. f. simoni), Hellmayr, 1906. Upper Amazon region (S of Amazon, W of R Tefé) in extreme E Peru and W Brazil.
(T. f. boliviana), Boucard, 1894. Andean foothills and adjacent lowlands of SE Peru (from E Pasco) to EC Bolivia (W Santa Cruz).

Meaning of Name: Thalurania: Gr. Thalos=  child or thalia=  happiness, abundance and ouranos,  ouranios = heavenly, sky-blue heaven. furcata: L. furcatus, furca=   forked, two-pronged fork..

See more of the Family Trochilidae