Pale-tailed Barbthroat

Overview

The pale-tailed barbthroat (Threnetes leucurus) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae found throughout much of the Amazon Basin, from the eastern Andean foothills to the Atlantic Ocean. It is a year-round resident and is assessed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN.

Identification

• A small hummingbird, 10 to 12.2 cm long, with a nearly straight bill.
• Adult males feature bronze-green upperparts and breast, a dark ear patch and throat with a reddish patch below, and a pale malar stripe.
• The belly is gray with ochre tints, and the tail is dark with varying shades on the outer feathers.
• Song consists of a fast high-pitched phrase of 5–10 notes repeated at intervals, with a call described as a high-pitched sharp 'tseet'.

Habitat

It inhabits open and semi-open spaces within humid lowland and higher tropical forest, including gallery forest, várzea and igapó swamp forests, and plantations. Its range extends from sea level to 850 m in Venezuela, reaching up to 1,800 m in Peru and 1,600 m in Ecuador.

Diet

As a 'trap-line' feeder, it visits a circuit of flowering plants to feed on nectar from Heliconia and other tubular flowers. It also consumes small arthropods.

Did you know?

The bird's specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek word 'leucouros', meaning 'white-tailed', although its tail is actually described as dark with varying shades on the outer feathers.