Crimson Topaz Topaza pella Scientific name definitions

Apart from a black hood, glittering green throat, and scythe-like tail streamers, almost every feather on the body of Crimson Topaz is rich, red and iridescent. This combination make the topaz, in every way, one of the most spectacular avian gems of the Neotropics. Fortunately, this iridescence is easy to see as the topaz, among the largest lowland hummingbirds, patrols for nectar through the sunlight crowns of flowering trees. Crimson Topaz is distributed in northeastern Amazonia and the Guianas where it occasionally can be seen foraging in lower vegetation around inselbergs, especially in Surinam.

Male 21–23 cm (including bill 2·5 cm and tail 8·6–12·2 cm), 11–18 g (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ); female 13–14 cm, 9–12·5 g (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ) (races combined). A large, strikingly coloured species , with unusually large feet (grey to black in male , and yellow to rose-coloured in female  and younger birds) (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ). Male has straight black bill; top and sides of head and neck velvet black ; back glittering crimson to purple, golden on uppertail-coverts; throat bright green with a golden sheen, surrounded by a black band , underparts bright red , undertail-coverts bronze ; wings brown, with rufous underwing-coverts  that combine with the axillaries to form a tuft (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ); central tail feathers bronzy golden-green, outer tail feathers chestnut, submedian tail feathers elongated and crossed . Female bill similar to male’s; back dark green ; throat green with crimson discs , underparts green with golden green discs, undertail-coverts shining green; central tail feathers bronzy, next pair violet, outermost pair chestnut. Juvenile like female, but has loose grey feathers with small spots of yellow-green iridescence in gorget, and posterior underparts green with grey fringes to feathers (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ); subadult male has black of head duller, body colour mixed with green and often less intense, undertail-coverts sometimes greener (less yellow), uppertail-coverts less coppery, remiges occasionally dark brown, and subcentral rectrices may not be elongated (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ). Race microrhyncha  , the smallest of all races (wing of male 67–79 mm, of female 69–72 mm) (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ), with smaller bill (19–21 mm, sexes combined) (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ), tends to have more reddish tone on throat patch, though this appears to vary clinally. Melanistic and albinotic individuals of the nominate race are relatively common.

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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.

Occurs in lowland and foothill rainforests up to 500 m, mainly inland, and often around clearings and treefalls. Frequently found around granite outcrops and along gallery forests near riverbanks, especially smaller streams and creeks.

Mainly sedentary during breeding period, thereafter number of individuals may decrease locally, probably following flowering season elsewhere.

Mainly seen foraging for nectar  in the upper storey of flowering forest trees such as Isertia hypoleuca (Rubiaceae) (4 Pacheco, J.F. and Parrini, R. (2006). Novos registros de aves para o Parque Nacional do Tapajós, região central da Amazônia brasileira. Atualidades Ornitológicas. 129: 4-6. Close ), Monomoreia, Inga and Bombax, but also visits flowers of vines and epiphytes, e.g. Bromeliaceae, Gesneriaceae, Ericaceae. Occasionally found in much lower vegetation around inselbergs in Surinam where it forages for nectar near the ground at flowering stands  of Costus scaber and in clumps of blooming Pitcairnia nuda. Male establishes feeding territories. Insects are caught in the air, often high above treetops, but also low (c. 1 m) above open water, usually streams (5 Peres, C. A., and A. Whittaker (1991). Annotated checklist of the bird species of the upper Rio Urucu, Amazonas, Brazil. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 111(3):156–171. Close ).

The song has been described as an “irregular series of chattering “chip” notes given almost continually (other than breaks to feed) throughout the day” (6 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Song often given from canopy-level perch, and may perform looping, lateral flights between songs, returning to same perch (1 Hu, D.-S., Joseph, L. and Agro, D. (2000). Distribution, variation, and taxonomy of Topaza hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). Ornitología Neotropical. 11(2): 123-142. Close ). Overall very similar to T. pyra.

Jan–Apr and again in Jul–Nov in the Guianas; Aug–Dec in N Brazil (7 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Display flights by males, apparently usually (or exclusively) over water, are designed in part to reveal the white tibial feathering (8 Whittaker, A. (2009). Pousada Rio Roosevelt: a provisional avifaunal inventory in south-western Amazonian Brazil, with information on life history, new distributional data and comments on taxonomy. Cotinga 31:23–46. Close ). Nests found at 1–8 m, often on vertical branches or in vines above or near water  . The cup-shaped nest , consisting of soft greyish or brownish fibres of Bombax seeds and cobweb, is fairly small compared with the size of the bird; height 52 mm, external diameter 50 mm, internal diameter 31 mm (7 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Clutch size two white eggs, size 18 mm × 11·5 mm, mass 1·25 g (7 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); incubation by female, time unknown; chick black with some pale grey dorsal down; fledging period 21 days; young remain with female for three weeks. First breeding in the second year.

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Locally common but frequently considered rare due to its secretive habits in the treetops; considered widespread but generally uncommon in Guyana, perhaps rare in Surinam, only very locally common in Venezuela, and common in French Guiana. In Guyana (R Demerara) more than 10 individuals/km² have been reported, and at least 8–12 individuals/km² near Voltzberg Nature Reserve in Surinam. No abundance data available for Amazonia, but many apparent gaps in the species’ range have been filled in recent decades, e.g. in the Tapajós-Xingu interfluvium (9 Pacheco, J. F., and F. Olmos (2005). Birds of a latitudinal transect in the Tapajós-Xingu Interfluvium, eastern Brazilian Amazonia. Ararajuba 13(1):29–46. Close ) as well as in S Amazonas (8 Whittaker, A. (2009). Pousada Rio Roosevelt: a provisional avifaunal inventory in south-western Amazonian Brazil, with information on life history, new distributional data and comments on taxonomy. Cotinga 31:23–46. Close ) and Rondônia (10 Olmos, F., L. F. Silveira, and G. A. Benedicto (2011). A contribution to the ornithology of Rondônia, southwest of the Brazilian Amazon. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 19(2):200–229. Close ) (Brazil). Present in Imataca Forest Reserve (Venezuela), Grão Pará Ecological Station (11 Aleixo, A., F. Poletta, M. F. C. Lima, M. Castro, E. Portes, and L. Sousa Miranda (2011). Notes on the vertebrates of northern Pará, Brazil: a forgotten part of the Guianan Region, II. Avifauna. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Ciências Naturais 6(1):11–65. Close ), Tapajós (formerly Amazonia) National Park (4 Pacheco, J.F. and Parrini, R. (2006). Novos registros de aves para o Parque Nacional do Tapajós, região central da Amazônia brasileira. Atualidades Ornitológicas. 129: 4-6. Close ) and Tapajós National Forest (Brazil) (12 Henriques, L. M. P., J. M. Wunderle, and M. R. Willig (2003). Birds of the Tapajós National Forest, Brazilian Amazon: a preliminary assessment. Ornitología Neotropical 14(3):314–338. Close ).