Animalia Life
Trochilus polytmus
SUBFAMILY
Trochilinae
TAXONOMY
Trochilus polytmus Linnaeus, 1758, Jamaica. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Jamaican doctor bird; French: Colibri а tкte noire;
German: Rotschnabel-Jamaikakolibri; Spanish: Colibrн Portacintas
Piquirrojo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Female c. 4.1 in (10.5 cm), male 8.7–11.8 in (22–30 cm including
0.9 in [2.3 cm] bill, 5.1–6.7 in [13–17 cm] tail); female c.
0.16 oz (4.4 g), male c. 0.18 oz (5.2 g). Male has straight bill,
coral red, tipped in black; head black, lateral crown feathers
and ear-coverts elongated beyond nape; body iridescent emerald
green, darker on back; tail black, forked, second outermost
tail feather very long (streamers), scalloped and fluted on the
inside. Female’s bill similar to male’s, but duller red, with distal
part black; above green; underparts white, lightly spotted on
sides of breast and belly; tail centrally green, rest dark blue
with contrasting broad white tips, no streamers.
DISTRIBUTION
Jamaica, except in extreme east.
HABITAT
Occurs from sea-level to elfin forest and found in all manmade
habitats; forages mainly throughout mid-strata and at
forest edge. Most numerous at c. 3,300 ft (1,000 m); most birds
at higher altitudes are not currently breeding.
BEHAVIOR
Males are extremely territorial at flowering shrubs or trees.
Song faint and complex. Individuals disperse to higher altitudes
after main breeding season.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Forages for nectar at native and introduced flowers, including
Hohenbergia, Bauhinia, Meriania, Tecoma, Besleria, Psychotria,
Erythrina, Eucalyptus, Spathodea, and Calliandra, generally at
height of 6.6–13 ft (2–4 m). Feeds on insects in the air, and
takes them also from leaves, flowers, branches, or spider webs.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds all year round, but chiefly from January to mid-May.
Cup-shaped nest of fine plant fibers and cobweb, with lichen
attached to outer wall, placed on thin twig 3.3–10 ft (1–3 m)
above ground. Two eggs; incubation 17–19 days by female.
Chicks black with two dorsal rows of pale gray down; fledging
period 19–24 days. Young remain with female for three to four
weeks; up to three broods per year.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Restricted range species. Common resident, particularly in the
Blue Mountains.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Red-billed streamertail
