| Brazilian ruby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female | |
 | |
| male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Tribe: | Heliantheini |
| Genus: | Heliodoxa |
| Species: | H. rubricauda |
| Binomial name | |
| Heliodoxa rubricauda (Boddaert, 1783) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Clytolaema rubricauda (Gould, 1853) | |
The Brazilian ruby (Heliodoxa rubricauda) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Brazil. [3] [4]
The Brazilian ruby was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. [5] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [6] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Trochilus rubicauda in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [7] The type locality is Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. [8]
The Brazilian ruby was at one time the only species in the genus Clytolaema that was introduced by the ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1853. [9] However, a 2014 publication provided evidence that Clytolaema is embedded within genus Heliodoxa. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) and the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) adopted the change in mid-2022. [10] [3] As of that date the Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retained it in Clytolaema. [11] [12]
The Brazilian ruby's earlier generic name Clytolaema combined the Ancient Greek klutos meaning "glorious" and laimos meaning "throat". The specific epithet rubricauda combines the Latin ruber meaning "red" and cauda meaning "tail". [13]
The Brazilian ruby is 10.8 to 11.3 cm (4.3 to 4.4 in) long. Males weigh 7 to 9.2 g (0.25 to 0.32 oz) and females 5.9 to 7.1 g (0.21 to 0.25 oz). Both sexes have a medium length black bill and a white spot behind the eye. Adult males have an iridescent emerald green forehead and crown, a green nape, and a golden bronze back and rump. The chin is blackish, the gorget shining ruby red, the breast iridescent emerald green, and the belly dark gray with green speckles. The central tail feathers are golden bronze and the rest rufous with bronze edges. Adult females have a grass green crown and back and a cinnamon rump. Their underparts are entirely cinnamon. Their tail is like the male's. Juveniles are like females with the addition of buff fringes on the head feathers. Melanistic morph individuals are frequent. [14]
The Brazilian ruby is found in eastern and southeastern Brazil from Bahia south to Rio Grande do Sul. It inhabits the interior of forest, scrublands, parks, and banana plantations, and is frequently seen at feeders. In elevation it is most numerous below 500 m (1,600 ft) but ranges as high as 1,500 m (4,900 ft). [14]
The Brazilian ruby is mostly sedentary but locally makes some seasonal elevational movements. [14]
The Brazilian ruby feeds on nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants and trees, both native and introduced. Males often defend feeding territories and females sometimes do. They also capture small insects by hawking from a perch. [14]
The Brazilian ruby's breeding season spans from November to March. It makes a cup nest of soft plant material with lichen on the outside and places it on a horizontal branch, typically 3 to 10 m (10 to 30 ft) above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 15 to 16 days; fledging occurs about 25 days after hatch. [14]
The Brazilian ruby's song is described as "jig chrrrrrr....jig cherrrrrr...jig chrrrrrr". It also makes a "jig jig jig" call. [14]
The IUCN has assessed the Brazilian ruby as being of Least Concern. Though it has a large range, its population size and trend are unknown. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It occurs in several protected areas, and is "[c]ommon throughout [its] range...and readily accepts man-made habitats like tree-filled gardens, parks and plantations." [14]
The black-capped kingfisher is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in tropical Asia from India east to China, Korea and Southeast Asia. This most northerly of the tree kingfishers is resident over much of its range, but northern populations are migratory, wintering south of their range in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Borneo and Java. It is distinctive in having a black cap that contrasts with the whitish throat, purple-blue wings and the coral red bill. The species is mainly found in coastal and mangrove habitats but can sometimes be found far inland.
The white-naped woodpecker is woodpecker which is a widespread but a scarce breeder in the Indian Subcontinent. It is associated with open forest and scrub with some trees. It nests in a tree hole, laying one or two white eggs.
The pied water tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in tropical South America from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia.
The southern white-fringed antwren is an insectivorous bird in the antbird family Thamnophilidae. It is a resident breeder in tropical South America from Colombia southeast to the Guianas and Brazil.
The checkered woodpecker is a woodpecker found in eastern South America.
The amethyst woodstar is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay and has been recorded as a vagrant on Trinidad.
The grey-breasted sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, and Venezuela.
The pied puffbird is a species of bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The rufous nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The Amazonian barred woodcreeper is a species of bird in the Dendrocolaptinae subfamily, the woodcreepers. The northern barred woodcreeper was formerly included in this species. The Amazonian barred woodcreeper still includes the subspecies concolor, which sometimes is considered a separate species, the concolor woodcreeper.
The rufous-throated antbird is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The helmeted pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The hooded tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The ringed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae that contains the woodpeckers, piculets, and wrynecks. It is found in northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and western Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps.
The spot-breasted woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in South America in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela and also in eastern Panama of Central America. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The yellow-tufted woodpecker is a species of woodpecker. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The yellow-throated woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae, the woodpeckers, piculets, and wrynecks. It is found in northern and central South America in Brazil and the entire Amazon Basin; also in the Guianas, and Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Besides the Amazon Basin, it is found in the southeast basin in the adjoining Tocantins-Araguaia River drainage; on the east at the edge of its range there, it only occurs in the headwaters of the Tocantins, then recontinues at the joining of the Araguaia-Tocantins as it goes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The white-bellied seedsnipe is a species of bird in the Thinocoridae family. It is found in southwestern Argentina and Tierra del Fuego. It is a vagrant to the Falkland Islands, and its Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and swamps.
The Inca jay is a bird species of the New World jays, which is native to the Andes of South America.
The mangrove rail is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is found in Central and South America. It was formerly considered conspecific with the clapper rail.
