Black Inca (Coeligena prunellei)
Facts – Black Inca
| Spanish: | Inca Negro |
|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Apodiformes |
| Family | Trochilidae |
| Genus | Coeligena (1) |
| Size | Length: 11 cm (2) |
Status – Black Inca
Description – Black Inca
The black Inca (Coeligena prunellei) is a dark-coloured hummingbird, which has a long straight bill (2). The plumage is generally black, with a greenish-blue throat patch; on each side of the chest there is a white patch, and the shoulders are iridescent blue (2). As with most hummingbirds, the female is somewhat drab in colour compared to the male (4). The narrow wings are adapted for hovering and the legs and feet are small and weak, a feature hinted at by the name of the order to which hummingbirds and swifts belong, ‘Apodiformes’, a term that means footless (4).
Range – Black Inca
Habitat – Black Inca
Inhabits humid montane forests, particularly where oaks are dominant (2). Black Inca individuals have also been recorded in parkland and riverine forests (2).
Biology – Black Inca
Little is known of the life history of this rare species. The black Inca is thought to breed between June and October (2).
Threats – Black Inca
The main threats affecting the black Inca include habitat loss and degradation, largely as a result of human settlement and the clearance of the forest for wood and for agricultural land, including coffee and sugarcane plantations (2). Much of the remaining habitat is greatly fragmented and isolated (2).
Conservation – Black Inca
The black Inca is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It occurs within a nature sanctuary in one part of its range, and so receives a level of protection in this area. There is currently a need to carry out surveys in some parts of the range and to study the life-history and breeding behaviour of the species (2).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more – Black Inca
For further information on the black Inca:
-
BirdLife International 2003 BirdLife’s online World Bird Database: the site for bird conservation Version 2.0. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International:
www.birdlife.org/
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Glossary
- Endemic: a species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
- Montane forests: forest occurring in the montane zone, a zone of cool upland slopes below the tree line dominated by large evergreen trees.
References
-
IUCN Red List (March, 2011)
http://www.iucnredlist.org -
BirdLife International 2003 Birdlife’s online World Bird Database: the site for bird conservation Version 2.0. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. (March, 2004)
http://www.birdlife.org/ -
CITES Appendices (March, 2004)
http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html - Erritzoe, J. (1993) The Birds of CITES and how to identify them. The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge.
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Image credit
© Roberto Chavarro Chávarro / Rogitama Biodiversity / Forest - Boyacá - Colombia
Roberto Chavarro Chávarro
rogitama1@yahoo.com.mx
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