- Heliodoxa rubricauda
Clytolaema rubricauda
Identification
11 cm (4.3 in)
Both sexes have a straight, black bill and a white spot behind the eye.
The male is mainly green with a ruby-red throat (for which this hummingbird is named) and greyish speckling on the belly. The tail and the lower back is coppery-rufous.
Melanistic males are seen frequently (not completely black but darker than normal).
The female is green with a small whitish-buff streak at the bill-base and light cinnamon underparts. The tail is mainly rufous from below, central tail feathers coppery-green from above.
Immatures resemble the female, but are speckled with rufous-buff on the upperparts.
Distribution
Endemic to south-east Brazil from Espirito Santo in north to Rio Grande do Sul in south and Goias in west.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Forest, parks, scrub, plantations. Mainly in lowlands, but locally as high as 1500-2000 m. (4900-6500 ft.) asl. Generally common.
Behaviour
Territorial behavior is common especially in males and to lesser extent, females.
Diet
Mainly feeds on nectar, less frequently small insects. Regularly attend hummingbird feeders.
Breeding
Breeding Nov-March. The two eggs are laid in a cup-shaped nest 3-10 m. (10-30 ft.) above the ground.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Ber van Perlo. 2009. A field guide to the Birds of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7
- Schuchmann, K.L. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Brazilian Ruby (Clytolaema rubricauda), 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.brarub1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brazilian Ruby. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brazilian_Ruby
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
