View source for Rainbow-bearded thornbill

{{short description|Species of hummingbird}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}

{{speciesbox
| name = Rainbow-bearded thornbill
| image = Rainbow-Bearded Thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani).jpg
| image_caption = Male in Yanacocha Reserve, [[Ecuador]]
| image2 = Chalcostigma herrani -NW Ecuador-6.jpg
| image2_caption = Female in northwest Ecuador
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Rainbow-bearded Thornbill ''Chalcostigma herrani'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22688036A93181325 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22688036A93181325.en |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| genus = Chalcostigma
| species = herrani
| authority = ([[Adolphe Delattre|Delattre]] & [[Jules Bourcier|Bourcier]], 1846)
| synonyms =
| range_map = Chalcostigma herrani map.svg
}}

The '''rainbow-bearded thornbill''' ('''''Chalcostigma herrani''''') is a [[species]] of [[hummingbird]] in the "coquettes", tribe [[Lesbiini]] of subfamily [[Lesbiinae]]. It is found in [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], and [[Peru]].<ref name=IOC12.1>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/hummingbirds/ |title=Hummingbirds |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 12.1 |editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1= F. |editor-last2=Donsker|editor-first2=D.|editor-last3=Rasmussen |editor-first3=P. |date=January 2022 |access-date=January 15, 2022 }}</ref><ref name=HBW2020>HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved 27 May 2021</ref>

==Taxonomy and systematics==

The rainbow-bearded thornbill was [[species description|formally described]] in 1846 by the French ornithologists [[Adolphe Delattre]] and [[Jules Bourcier]] from specimens collected near the town of [[Pasto, Colombia|Pasto]] in southwest Colombia. They coined the [[binomial name]] ''Trochilus herrani''.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Delattre | first1=Adolphe | author1-link=Adolphe Delattre | last2=Bourcier | first2=Jules | author2-link=Jules Bourcier | year=1846 | title=Description de quinze espèces nouvelles de Trochilidées, faisant partie des collections rapportées par M. Ad. De Lattre, dont les précédentes excursions ont déjà enrichi plusieurs branches de l'histoire naturelle, et provenant de l'intérieur du Pérou , des républiques de l'Équateur, de la Nouvelle-Grenade et l'isthme de Panama | language=fr | journal=Revue Zoologique | volume=9 | pages=305–312 [309] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2362718 }}</ref> This bird is now one of five species placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Chalcostigma]]'' that was introduced in 1854 by the German naturalist [[Ludwig Reichenbach]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Reichenbach | first=Ludwig | author-link=Ludwig Reichenbach  | year=1854 | title=Aufzählung der Colibris Oder Trochilideen in ihrer wahren natürlichen Verwandtschaft, nebst Schlüssel ihrer Synonymik | journal=Journal für Ornithologie (Supplement) | volume=1 | pages=1–24 [12] | language=de | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13867390 }}</ref><ref name=IOC12.1/> (The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the [[American Ornithological Society]] is considering a proposal to merge the genus into ''[[Oxypogon]]'').<ref name=SACC930>{{cite web |url=https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop930.htm |title=Revise generic limits in the Lesbiini: A. Expand ''Oxypogon'' to include ''Oreonympha'' and ''Chalcostigma'', and B. Modify linear sequence |last1=Stiles |first1=Gary  |last2=Remsen |first2=J.V. Jr.|date=November 2021 |publisher=South American Classification Committee of AOS |access-date=February 23, 2022 }}</ref>

The genus name derives from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''khalkos'' ″bronze″ and ''stigma'' ″mark″. The specific epithet ''herrani'' was chosen to honor the [[Colombians|Colombian]] general and statesman [[Pedro Alcántara Herrán]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jobling |first1=James A. |title=Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names |date=2010 |publisher=Christopher Helm |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages=98,190}}</ref>

Two [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=IOC12.1/>
* ''C. h. tolimae'' [[Otto Kleinschmidt|Kleinschmidt, O]], 1927
* ''C. h. herrani'' ([[Adolphe Delattre|Delattre]] & [[Jules Bourcier|Bourcier]], 1846)

[[File:Rainbow-bearded Thornbill.jpg|thumb|left|Rainbow-bearded thornbill]]
==Description==

The rainbow-bearded thornbill is {{convert|10|to|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. Males weigh about {{convert|6.2|g|oz|abbr=on}} and females {{convert|5.6|g|oz|abbr=on}}. Both sexes have a short, needle-like bill. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly bottle green with a white dot behind the eye and [[rufous]] forecrown and crown. It has black [[Primary feather|primaries]], a coppery rump, and white undertail [[Covert feather|coverts]]. The forked tail is blue-black with prominent white tips at the corners that are most easily seen from below. Its [[Gorget (bird)|gorget]] ("beard") is a rainbow of colors from celadon-green through turquoise to yellow and red at the lower end. The feet are black. Adult females are generally similar to males, but with pale yellowish-ochre from lower the belly to the undertail coverts and a much reduced gorget. Juvenile birds are similar to the adult female, but the male has an entirely dark throat. Subspecies ''C. h. tolimae'' is very similar to the nominate but is darker overall and its gorget is longer.<ref name=RBTH-BOW>Schulenberg, T. S. and C. W. Sedgwick (2020). Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (''Chalcostigma herrani''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rabtho1.01 retrieved February 25, 2022</ref><ref name=Restall>{{cite book |last1=Restall |first1=Robin |last2=Rodner |first2=Clemencia |last3=Lentino |first3=Miguel |title=Birds of Northern South America: an Identification Guide |date=2006 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=978-0-300-10862-0 |pages=Vol 1 pp270-271}}</ref><ref name=Freile>{{cite book |last1=Freile |first1=Juan F. |last2=Restall |first2=Robin |title=Birds of Ecuador |date=2018 |publisher=Helm |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-0533-7 |page=244}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The nominate subspecies of rainbow-bearded thornbill is found from the Western Andes of Colombia in [[Cauca Department]] through Ecuador on both slopes of the Andes into northern Peru's departments of [[Department of Piura|Piura]] and [[Department of Cajamarca|Cajamarca]]. ''C. h. tolimae'' is restricted to [[Nevado del Tolima]] in Colombia's Central Andes. A bird of high elevations, it is typically found between {{convert|2700|and|4100|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Colombia and {{convert|2800|and|3700|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Ecuador. Its primary habitat is ''[[paramo]]'', open country with bushy patches and small woodlands, and gulleys with thickets of ferns and [[bromeliad]]s.<ref name=RBTH-BOW/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ayerbe Quiñones |first1=Fernando |title=Guía ilustrada de la Avifauna colombiana |date=2018 |publisher=Punto aparte |location=Bogotá |isbn=978-958-5461-03-1 |pages=Pl 29}}</ref><ref name=Freile/><ref name=Restall/>

==Behavior==
===Movement===

The rainbow-bearded thornbill is resident throughout its range.<ref name=RBTH-BOW/>

===Feeding===

The rainbow-bearded thornbill mostly feeds on the nectar of small flowers on low bushes and shrubs. It often clings to these flowers while feeding. It will take insect prey when available. The species typically forages alone and is very territorial. It will chase off competitors for food sources, even if they are considerably larger (e.g. [[flowerpiercer]]s) and will not tolerate other hummingbirds even on large fruiting trees.<ref name=RBTH-BOW/><ref name=Restall/><ref name=Freile/><ref>{{cite book |last1=McMullan |first1=Miles |title=Field guide to the birds of Colombia |date=2018 |publisher=Rey Naranjo Editores |location=[Bogotá, Colombia] |isbn=978-958-8969-77-0 |page=57}}</ref>

===Breeding===

The rainbow-bearded thornbill's breeding [[phenology]] is not well documented. Its breeding season appears to include at least July to September. The nest has not been described. One nest with three eggs has been reported, departing from the almost invariable two-egg clutch of hummingbirds.<ref name=RBTH-BOW/>

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Chalcostigma-herrani |species=rainbow-bearded thornbill}}
===Vocalization===

There are few recordings of the rainbow-bearded thornbill's vocalizations. What might be a song is a "repeated low-pitched ''cheet-dee-dee-cheet''".<ref name=RBTH-BOW/>

==Status==

The [[IUCN]] has assessed the rainbow-bearded thornbill as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing. No specific threats have been identified.<ref name=IUCN/> It is usually described as rare to locally common.<ref name=RBTH-BOW/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1260684}}

[[Category:Chalcostigma|rainbow-bearded thornbill]]
[[Category:Birds of the Colombian Andes]]
[[Category:Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1846|rainbow-bearded thornbill]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Jules Bourcier|rainbow-bearded thornbill]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]