Profile
In flight
Hummingbirds
Wire-crested Thorntail
Discosura popelairii
- uncommon
- 51 km/h
- Least Concern
Male wears an iridescent green wire crest above his crown. His tail fans into a deeply forked, electric-blue fork.
- Population
- Unknown (population size and trend not quantified by any source; BirdLife/IUCN track a "continuing decline in mature individuals" qualitative trend note but no numeric estimate exists)
- Habitat
- Humid montane/foothill forest edges and interior, typically at 500-1,500 m elevation on Andean slopes.
- Fun fact
- The Wire-crested Thorntail is among the smallest birds on Earth, with adult males weighing only about 2.5 grams yet sporting a glittering, hair-like crest and a deeply forked, wire-thin tail; the species is monotypic (no recognized subspecies) and believed largely sedentary.
- Range
- Andean foothills of eastern Colombia (Meta department), eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru (including Puno department); one sighting record from Bolivia.
- Diet
- Primarily nectar, especially from Inga tree flowers in the forest canopy, supplemented with small arthropods.
- Size
- 0.114 m
