Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani)

Order: Apodiformes | Family: Trochilidae | IUCN Status: Least Concern

rainbow-bearded-thornbill
Age: Adult | Sex: Males | Loc. S Ecuador | E Colombia

rainbow-bearded-thornbill
Age: Adult | Sex: Females | Loc.  Eastern Andes, Colombia

rainbow-bearded-thornbill
Age: Adult | Sex: Female | Loc.  Eastern Andes, Colombia

rainbow-bearded-thornbill
Age: Adult | Sex: Male | Loc. Eastern Andes, Colombia

Identification & Behavior: ~11 cm (4.3 in). The male Rainbow-bearded Thornbill is mostly brownish-green with a distinctive orange cap and a narrow and elongated multi-colored gorget.  The female is greenish brown with an orange cap and a rudimentary gorget. Both sexes have a dusky tail with large white tips on each feather.  The bill in both sexes in black,  short, and straight. It favors humid scrub and tall shrubbery. Both sexes resemble a male Rufous-capped Thornbill but are distinguished by being larger, mostly green, and having large white tips on the tail feathers.

Status: The Rainbow-bearded Thornbill is uncommon in paramo habitats on the east slope of the northern Andes. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Pico-Espina Arcoiris.

Sub-species: Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani herrani), DeLattre and Bourcier, 1846.

Meaning of Name: Chalcostigma: Gr. Khalkos=  bronze, copper and stigma, stigmatos=  mark, to tattoo. herrani: In honor of Gen. Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martinez de Zaldúa (1800-1872) Colombian statesman.

See more of the Family Trochilidae   peru aves

Distribution Map
rainbow-bearded thornbillVoice

References:

    • Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). The Field Museum.  http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/uw_test/birdsofperu on 08/01/2015.