Lucifer Hummingbird
Encyclopedia
The Lucifer Sheartail or Lucifer Hummingbird, Calothorax lucifer is a medium-sized, up to 10cm long, green hummingbird
with long decurved bill, small wings and white streak behind eye. The male has an iridescent plumage, forked dark tail, green crown, long magenta gorget
and white underparts. The female is larger than male with duller plumage, pale throat and buff below.
The Lucifer Sheartail is distributed to desert
s and arid
areas with agave
plants in the southwestern United States
, from southwest Texas
, extreme southwestern New Mexico
to extreme southeastern Arizona
, and in central and north Mexico
. It is also found in the Madrean sky islands
of the northern end of the Sierra Madre Occidental
, Mexico.
The diet consists mainly of nectar, spiders and small insect
s. The female lays two white eggs in the small cup-like nest.
A locally common species in its range, the Lucifer Sheartail is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
with long decurved bill, small wings and white streak behind eye. The male has an iridescent plumage, forked dark tail, green crown, long magenta gorget
Gorget (birds)
A gorget is a patch of colored feathers found on the throat or upper breast of some species of birds. It is a feature found on many male hummingbirds, particularly those found in North America; these gorgets are typically iridescent. Other species, such as the Purple-throated Fruitcrow and Chukar...
and white underparts. The female is larger than male with duller plumage, pale throat and buff below.
The Lucifer Sheartail is distributed to desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s and arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
areas with agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
plants in the southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, from southwest Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, extreme southwestern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
to extreme southeastern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and in central and north Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is also found in the Madrean sky islands
Madrean sky islands
The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine-oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are surrounded at lower elevations by the Sonoran and...
of the northern end of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
, Mexico.
The diet consists mainly of nectar, spiders and small insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. The female lays two white eggs in the small cup-like nest.
A locally common species in its range, the Lucifer Sheartail is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.
