Animalia Life
Amazilia tzacatl
SUBFAMILY
Trochilinae
TAXONOMY
Trochilus tzacatl De la Llave, 1833, Mexico. Five subspecies
recognized.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Rieffer’s hummingbird; French: Ariane а ventre gris;
German: Braunschwanzamazilie; Spanish: Amazilia Tzacatl.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.1–4.3 in (8–11 cm); female c. 0.18 oz (5.2 g), male 0.19 oz
(5.5 g); subspecies A. t. handleyi 0.25 oz (7.0 g). Male has straight,
medium-sized bill, fleshy red with dark tip, or upper mandible
blackish; upperparts, flanks, and belly golden green to bonzegreen;
throat glittering golden green, sometimes with a turquoise
gleam in certain lights; belly ashy gray to grayish brown; tail
rufous, rectrices with bronze-green to copperish margins. Female
similar to male, but has grayish subterminal bars on throat
feathers and white belly. Immature darker grayish towards belly.
DISTRIBUTION
A. t. tzacatl: central-east, possibly northeast Mexico to central
Panama; A. t. handleyi: Isla Escudo de Veraguas (off northwest
Panama; A. t. fuscicaudata: north and west Colombia and west
Venezuela; A. t. jucunda: southwest Colombia and west
Ecuador; A. t. brehmi: Ricaurte, Nariсo, Colombia; endemic to
the upper Rнo Guiza valley.
HABITAT
Edges of humid evergreen forest, clearings, plantations, and
man-made habitats. Often in second growth and semi-open,
thicket-rich areas; in South America, partially in gallery forest
and mangrove. Occurs from sea-level to 8,200 ft (2,500 m).
BEHAVIOR
Mainly territorial, also when associated in groups; intruders,
even larger trochilids, butterflies, and euglossine bees are
sometimes attacked in diving flight. More sedentary in humid
regions than in arid areas. Northernmost population winters
along Pacific and Caribbean coast of Mexico. Vagrants may
occur farther north of the range limit and have been recorded
from southern Texas in summer and autumn. Seasonal movements
are known from Colombia and Ecuador due to altitudinal
variation of flowering periods. Frequently gathers in some
numbers with conspecific or congeners such as A. amazilia and
A. rutila.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Nectar and arthropods. Forages in all strata from near the
ground to the more open sides of tree crowns. Feeds on a wide
range of plants, including Antigonon, Callistrimon, Clitoria, Costus,
Isertia, Hamelia, Heliconia, Stachytarpheta, Tabebuia, and Lantana.
Gleans insects and small spiders from leaves and branches.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds all year round. Favorite nest-sites are horizontal
branches in smaller trees or shrubs, mostly 6.6–16 ft (2–5 m)
above ground; sometimes cup-shaped nest is placed in fork.
Nest material varies, and includes plant down, yellowish brown
to grayish brown fibers, cobweb, pieces of dead leaves, moss,
and lichen. Two eggs; incubation 15–16 days by female. Chicks
blackish, with buff dorsal down; fledging at 18–22 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Common to very common throughout range.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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