Purple-crowned Plovercrest Stephanoxis loddigesii Scientific name definitions

The two species of plovercrest occur in the Atlantic Forest region of eastern South America, but do not overlap geographically: Green-crowned Plovercrest Stephanoxis lalandi is restricted to southeastern Brazil (from southern Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to northeastern São Paulo), whereas Purple-crowned Plovercrest occurs from eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina to southern Brazil (north to central São Paulo). The males of both species have a glittering crown with a long but narrow crest. The crown and crest are green (naturally) in Green-crowned Plovercrest, and the male has dark violet blue underparts. The crown and crest are violet in Purple-crowned Plovercrest, and the violet blue of the underparts is confined to the center of the throat and breast, bordered laterally by gray. Males of both species sing at leks; differences in song or display between the two species have not been documented.

8·5–9·5 cm; male 3·7 g. Compared to formerly conspecific S. lalandi has bill slightly longer; male differs by violet-blue crest , brownish ear-coverts, chin and throat , reduced blackish violet-blue abdomen, whiter (less grey) tips to outer tail feathers, and yellowish-green back and crown; female more similar to that of S. lalandi, but can be separated by more yellowish-green upperparts (like male) and larger white tips to outer tail feathers, while innermost two pairs of rectrices are all green (only innermost pair are all green in S. lalandi). Juvenile like female.

E Paraguay and NE Argentina (Misiones) to SE Brazil (S São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul).

Understorey of forest, scrub vegetation and along watercourses from sea-level to 900 m.

Largely sedentary, but in S of breeding range individuals winter at lower elevations.

Forages for nectar at native and introduced flowers (Vochysia, Salvia, Dombeya, Calliandra, Inga, Eucalyptus), including those of several bromeliads (Aechmea calyculata, A. recurvata and Billbelgia nutans, Bromeliaceae) (1 Favretto, M.A., Hoeltgebaum, M.P., Lingnau, R. and D’Agostini, F.M. (2010). Beija-flores visitantes de bromélias no Parque Natural Municipal Rio do Peixe, Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 158: 11–13. Close ), from near the ground to treetops. Insects are caught in the air, also gleaned from leaves. Male establishes feeding territories mainly during reproductive period.

At leks, males give a complex, modulated vocalization at a mean rate of 74·8 ± 14·5 songs/minute (range = 46–101 songs/minute) and sing at a similar rate throughout the lekking season, but not throughout the day, as rates increase briefly when males return to their territories after a chase or when a conspecific passes nearby (2 Pizo, M.A. (2012). Lek behavior of the Plovercrest (Stephanoxis lalandi). Wilson J. Orn.. 124(1): 106–112. Close ).

Season Oct–Mar in Brazil (3 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Males generally gather at leks during the reproductive period, but lone singing males are occasionally recorded (2 Pizo, M.A. (2012). Lek behavior of the Plovercrest (Stephanoxis lalandi). Wilson J. Orn.. 124(1): 106–112. Close ); during one study, in S Brazil, leks (which are usually sited in edge habitats) numbered two, three and seven males, respectively, with distance between neighbouring lek territories 14·8 ± 6·3 m and territory size 11·4 ± 4·4 m² (within which each male used 2–5 different perches, 0·8–3·5 m above ground, from which to sing); the largest lek measured 70 m × 30 m; birds arrive shortly after sunrise, but activity soon declines, before increasing again between 09:00 and 15:00 hours, with males departing to roost by 18:30 hours; males do not appear to feed at leks, thereby explaining their relatively low overall attendance at these sites (35·8% of observation periods) (2 Pizo, M.A. (2012). Lek behavior of the Plovercrest (Stephanoxis lalandi). Wilson J. Orn.. 124(1): 106–112. Close ). During displays, males may hover with raised crest, pointing the bill towards the display perch while flying sideways in semi-circles or circles, similar to aggressive displays performed in front of perched rival males (4 Bosholn, M., Vargas-Peixoto, D., Sobroza, T.V. and Nunes, J.F. (2017). A new behavior at the lek by male Violet‐crowned Plovercrests (Stephanoxis loddigesii). Orn. Neotropical. 28: 23–26. Close ). Cup-shaped nest  of soft plant or seed fibres, with small fragments of moss and leaves (3 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), decorated externally with lichens (5 de la Peña, M. R. (1994). Guía de Aves Argentinas. Volume 3. 2nd edition. Columbiformes a Piciformes. Literature of Latin America, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Close ). Clutch size two white eggs, mean size 14 mm × 8 mm (5 de la Peña, M. R. (1994). Guía de Aves Argentinas. Volume 3. 2nd edition. Columbiformes a Piciformes. Literature of Latin America, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Close ); incubation 14–16 days, by female; chick has pale grey dorsal down.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Patchily distributed and only locally common, e.g. around Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul (S Brazil). In C & S Paraná (along R Tibagi) densities of at least 3–5 pairs/km² noted in breeding season. Considered rare in Santa Catarina (S Brazil) and uncommon to rare in Paraguay. Population size and trend have yet to be determined BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Stephanoxis loddigesii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/02/2015. . Readily accepts man-modified habitats such as farmland with scattered bushes and forest islands. Present in Rio do Peixe Municipal Natural Park (1 Favretto, M.A., Hoeltgebaum, M.P., Lingnau, R. and D’Agostini, F.M. (2010). Beija-flores visitantes de bromélias no Parque Natural Municipal Rio do Peixe, Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 158: 11–13. Close ) (Brazil), Estancia Itabó Private Biological Reserve and Mbaracayú Reserve (Paraguay), and Iguazú National Park and San Antonio Strict Nature Reserve (Argentina).