Family Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Endangered

Grey-bellied Comet (Taphrolesbia griseiventris)

figure, drawing, illustration of Grey-bellied Comet (Taphrolesbia griseiventris)

Taxonomy

French: Colibri comète German: Graubauchsylphe Spanish: Colibrí ventrigrís
Taxonomy:

Cynanthus griseiventris

Taczanowski

, 1883,

Paucal, Peru

.

Monotypic.

Distribution:

NC Andes of Peru (S Cajamarca to W Huánuco).

Descriptive notes

14–17 cm (including bill 2·2 cm and tail up to 8·5 cm). Male has straight black bill; upperparts bronzy-green, postocular spot white; underparts pale grey... read more

Voice

Hardly vocal. Only known vocalization is a short high-pitched “tsit” (c. 9·5 kHz), repeated at... read more

Habitat

Bushy semi-arid areas with scattered trees or thickets in canyons, partly cultivated hillsides, at... read more

Food and feeding

Has been recorded taking nectar of flowering cacti, Agave, Amarylli­daceae and Puya.

Breeding

No information available.

Movements

Presumably sedentary.

Status and conservation

ENDANGERED. CITES II. Previously listed as Vulnerable. Restricted-range species: present in Marañón Valley EBA and Peruvian High Andes EBA. Generally rather... read more

Recommended citation

Züchner, T., de Juana, E. & Boesman, P. (2019). Grey-bellied Comet (Taphrolesbia griseiventris). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55625 on 19 February 2019).