Mountain Velvetbreast Lafresnaya lafresnayi Scientific name definitions

Mountain Velvetbreasts are best identified by their thin, decurved bills and their whitish tale patches. These hummingbirds are most often seen hovering over long tubular flowers, frequently fanning out their tails as they do so. While males defend feeding territories, females tend to forage at scattered flowers. Both sexes are often decorated with pollen all over their crowns from foraging. Mountain Velvetbreasts inhabit humid and wet montane forests—especially around the borders. They also like streams and shrubby slopes.

11·5–12 cm (including bill of 2·7–3·2 cm) (1 Schuchmann, K.-L., A.-A. Weller, and E. Wulfmeyer (2003) Biogeography and taxonomy of Lafresnaya (Trochilidae), with a new subspecies from Colombia. Ornitología Neotropical 14: 157-171. Close ); 4·5–6·3 g. Male has long, thin, decurved black bill; upperparts grass-green; white postocular spot, throat and breast iridescent emerald-green, belly velvet black, central rectrices bronze-green, rest buff (nominate race) or whitish (all other races), tipped black. Female similar to male but with underparts buff (nominate race) or white (all other races) with iridescent green discs. Juvenile similar to female but head feathers have brownish fringes; juvenile male separable from juvenile female by black belly, but otherwise similar. Shape and length of bill provide major diagnostic for separating the subspecies: decurvature varies clinally and is minor in N forms liriope, greenewalti, lafresnayi, longirostris, and in southernmost rectirostris, but more pronounced in saul and especially orestes (the only character distinguishing the latter from rectirostris); recently described longirostris clearly exhibits the longest bill of all subspecies, averaging 30·8 mm in males (1 Schuchmann, K.-L., A.-A. Weller, and E. Wulfmeyer (2003) Biogeography and taxonomy of Lafresnaya (Trochilidae), with a new subspecies from Colombia. Ornitología Neotropical 14: 157-171. Close ). Race liriope similar to nominate but central pair of tail feathers coppery green, contrasting with the back; greenewalti paler and more yellowish-green overall; longirostris differs from nominate race and liriope by its longer, more decurved bill, and from latter by its less bronzy inner tail, and from all other conspecifics by pronounced horn-coloured to buffish tinge of tail; saul has outer rectrices pure white, tipped greenish bronze; orestes is very weakly diagnosed, but see above for difference from next subspecies; and rectirostris has broad black band on tips of rectrices.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Borders of humid montane forest and shrubby slopes from 1800 m (2 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ) to 3400 m, and locally to 3700 m in E Ecuador (3 Ridgely, R. S., and P. J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Volumes 1–2. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ). Less common inside the forest. Forages at low levels, 0·5–3 m. Most numerous at 2000–2800 m, but is also regular to 3500 m in Ecuador (3 Ridgely, R. S., and P. J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Volumes 1–2. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ).

Nectar of flowering Centropogon (e.g. C. ferrugineus) (4 Toloza-Moreno, D.L., León-Camargo, D.A. and Rosero-Lasprilla, L. (2014). El ciclo anual de una comunidad de colibríes (Trochilidae) en bosques altoandinos intactos y paramizados en la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia. Orn. Colombiana. 14: 28–47. Close ), Castilleja, Siphocampylus, Salvia, Pentadenia (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Loranthaceae, Ericaceae and Gesneriaceae; at least locally, Syphocampylus columnae and S. scandens are very important (4 Toloza-Moreno, D.L., León-Camargo, D.A. and Rosero-Lasprilla, L. (2014). El ciclo anual de una comunidad de colibríes (Trochilidae) en bosques altoandinos intactos y paramizados en la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia. Orn. Colombiana. 14: 28–47. Close ). Male occupies nectar-rich territories, female trap-lines between dispersed flower stands. Arthropods (e.g. Hemiptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera) (6 Rico-G., A. (2008). Morfología y forrajeo para buscar artrópodos por colibríes altoandinos. Orn. Colombiana. 7: 43–58. Close ) are caught in the air by hawking or gleaned from plant surfaces; both sexes take insects (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Calls include a repeated high-pitched “tseee” or “pseeuw”, sometimes followed by a stuttering descending series. Also soft “tek” notes and a thin rattle (2 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2007). Birds of Peru. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. In NW Peru, range recently found to extend as far S as the border between Cajamarca and La Libertad (race saul) (7 Schmitt, C. J., D. C. Schmitt, J. Tiravanti C., F. Angulo P., I. Franke, L. M. Vallejos, L. Pollack, and C. C. Witt (2013). Avifauna of a relict Podocarpus forest in the Cachil Valley, north-west Peru. Cotinga 35:17–25. Close ). Common in the Santa Marta Mts; in the Andes less numerous and patchily distributed. Uncommon and local in Venezuela (5 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In Ecuador, occurs in several protected areas such as Pasochoa Forest Reserve, Las Cajas National Recreation Area and Podocarpus National Park, but is generally uncommon in the country (3 Ridgely, R. S., and P. J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Volumes 1–2. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ).