Selasphorus scintilla

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Superordo: Caprimulgimorphae
Ordo: Apodiformes

Familia: Trochilidae
Subfamilia: Trochilinae
Genus: Selasphorus
Species: Selasphorus scintilla
Name

Selasphorus scintilla (Gould, 1851)

Type locality: Volcán de Chiriqui, 9000 ft, Panama.

Synonyms

Trochilus (Selasphorus) scintilla (protonym)
Selasphorus underwoodi Salvin, 1897 BBOC p. 38 BHL

References

Gould, J. 1850. On six new species of Humming Birds. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London [1851] Pt 18 no.211: 162–164. BHL Reference page. p. 162

Vernacular names
English: Scintillant Hummingbird
español: Colibrí centelleante
français: Colibri scintillant
polski: Rudaczek malutki

The scintillant hummingbird (Selasphorus scintilla) is a hummingbird endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. This species is replaced at higher elevations by its relative, the volcano hummingbird, S. flammula.

Habitat

It inhabits brushy forest edges, coffee plantations and sometimes gardens at altitudes from 900–2,000 m (3,000–6,600 ft), and up to 2,500 m (8,200 ft) when not breeding.
Description

It is only 6.5–8 cm (2.6–3.1 in) long, including the bill.[3] The male weighs 2 g (0.071 oz) and the female 2.3 g (0.081 oz).[citation needed] This is one of the smallest birds in existence, marginally larger than the bee hummingbird.[4] The black bill is short and straight.

The adult male scintillant hummingbird has bronze-green upperparts and a rufous and black-striped tail. The throat is brilliant red, separated from the cinnamon underparts by a white neck band.[3] The female is similar, but her throat is buff with small green spots and the flanks are richer rufous. Young birds resemble the female but have rufous fringes to the upperpart plumage.[3]
Breeding

The female scintillant hummingbird is entirely responsible for nest building and incubation. She lays two white eggs in her tiny plant-floss cup nest 1–4 m (3 ft 3 in – 13 ft 1 in) high in a scrub. Incubation takes 15–19 days, and fledging another 20–26.
Diet

The food of S. scintilla is nectar, taken from a variety of small flowers, including Salvia and species normally pollinated by insects. Like other hummingbirds it also takes some small insects as an essential source of protein. In the breeding season, scintillant hummingbird males perch conspicuously in open areas with Salvia and defend their feeding territories aggressively with diving displays. The call is a liquid tsip.

Piercing the flower (nectar robbing)

References

BirdLife International (2016). "Selasphorus scintilla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22688305A93191576. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688305A93191576.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
Garrigues, Richard (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide. Robert Dean (illustrations) (1st ed.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9.

Wood, Gerald L. (1982). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats (3rd ed.). Enfield, Middlesex, UK: Guinness Superlatives. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9. OCLC 9852754.

Works cited
Stiles, F. Gary; Alexander F. Skutch (1991) [1989 (1991 is the third printing)]. A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Dana Gardner (illustrations) (1st (paperback) ed.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Publishing Associates. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4. OCLC 1046303028.