- Aglaeactis aliciae
Identification
12–13 cm (4¾-5 in)
Male
- Brown head and mantle
- iridescent purplish lower back and rump
- Golden green on uppertail-coverts
- White lores, chin, throat, central breast and pectoral tufts
Female: similar to male, however iridescent areas on the back are either missing or only on the uppertail-coverts.
Juvenile: similar to female with buffy spots on lores, chin, throat and central belly.
Distribution
South America where endemic to Peru. Found on the eastern slope of Andes of northern Peru (La Libertad and Ancash)
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Semi-open Andean slopes with Alnus acuminata trees and Oreocallis grandiflora. They are found between 3000–3500 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of nectar and small insects.
Breeding
There is very little know. Juveniles have been seen from February to June.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Schuchmann, K.L., P. F. D. Boesman, and C.J. Sharpe (2020). Purple-backed Sunbeam (Aglaeactis aliciae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.pubsun1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Purple-backed Sunbeam. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Purple-backed_Sunbeam
