Letitia's thorntail (Discosura letitiae), also known as the coppery thorntail, is a very poorly known species of hummingbird in the "coquettes" tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae.[3][4] It was named after Letizia del Gallo Roccagiovine (1848–1863), granddaughter of the ornithologist Charles Bonaparte. [5]
Letitia's thorntail is only known from two old male specimens described as from Bolivia. Localities for old skins often are unreliable, and it is possible they came from elsewhere. Consequently, its behavior and habitat are unknown but are likely similar to those of other thorntails. It has been suggested that it represented a hybrid or a variant of the racquet-tailed coquette, but a study by G.R. Graves has supported its status as a distinct species. Graves suggested the English name of Letitia's coquette because the specimens' tail feathers more closely resemble those of coquettes than those of thorntails.[6]
Descriptionedit
Graves described the specimens of Letitia's thorntail, but noted that the perceived colors of hummingbirds depend on the lighting and the observer's angle of view. The crown is brilliant golden-green that blends to dark bronze-green on the back with some coppery-bronze iridescence. The lower back is crossed by a narrow white band below which is a coppery red to coppery purple rump and bronze-green uppertail coverts. The chin and upper breast are golden-green like the crown with a diffuse pale pectoral band below the latter. The midline of the lower breast is bronze-green with coppery red spangles. The lower belly and flanks are buffy- to grayish white, the vent is dark gray, and the undertail coverts dark green with rufous tips. One specimen lacks the central tail feathers; the other specimen's are bronze-green with broad black tips. The other tail feathers are brownish black. The tail feathers are progressively longer from the innermost to the outermost but the outermost are not as dramatically longer as in other thorntails.[6]
Statusedit
The IUCN has assessed Letitia's thorntail as Data Deficient.[1] Its "distribution [is] uncertain due to doubts over provenance of specimens" so it is possible that the species still exists undetected elsewhere than Bolivia.[7]
Referencesedit
^ abBirdLife International (2016). "Coppery Thorntail Discosura letitiae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22687265A93146232. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22687265A93146232.en. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2014). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds (1. Aufl ed.). London u.a: Bloomsbury Publ. ISBN978-1-4729-0573-4.
^ abGraves, G.R. (1999). "Taxonomic notes on hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) 2. Popelairia letitiae (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1852) is a valid species". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 112 (4): 804–812. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
^Züchner, T., P. F. D. Boesman, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Coppery Thorntail (Discosura letitiae), 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.coptho2.01 retrieved January 24, 2022
April 10, 2024
letitia, thorntail, discosura, letitiae, also, known, coppery, thorntail, very, poorly, known, species, hummingbird, coquettes, tribe, lesbiini, subfamily, lesbiinae, named, after, letizia, gallo, roccagiovine, 1848, 1863, granddaughter, ornithologist, charles. Letitia s thorntail Discosura letitiae also known as the coppery thorntail is a very poorly known species of hummingbird in the coquettes tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae 3 4 It was named after Letizia del Gallo Roccagiovine 1848 1863 granddaughter of the ornithologist Charles Bonaparte 5 Letitia s thorntailIllustration by John GouldConservation statusData Deficient IUCN 3 1 1 CITES Appendix II CITES 2 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesClade StrisoresOrder ApodiformesFamily TrochilidaeGenus DiscosuraSpecies D letitiaeBinomial nameDiscosura letitiae Bourcier amp Mulsant 1852 SynonymsPopelairia letitiae Bourcier amp Mulsant 1852 Contents 1 Taxonomy and systematics 2 Description 3 Status 4 ReferencesTaxonomy and systematics editLetitia s thorntail is only known from two old male specimens described as from Bolivia Localities for old skins often are unreliable and it is possible they came from elsewhere Consequently its behavior and habitat are unknown but are likely similar to those of other thorntails It has been suggested that it represented a hybrid or a variant of the racquet tailed coquette but a study by G R Graves has supported its status as a distinct species Graves suggested the English name of Letitia s coquette because the specimens tail feathers more closely resemble those of coquettes than those of thorntails 6 Description editGraves described the specimens of Letitia s thorntail but noted that the perceived colors of hummingbirds depend on the lighting and the observer s angle of view The crown is brilliant golden green that blends to dark bronze green on the back with some coppery bronze iridescence The lower back is crossed by a narrow white band below which is a coppery red to coppery purple rump and bronze green uppertail coverts The chin and upper breast are golden green like the crown with a diffuse pale pectoral band below the latter The midline of the lower breast is bronze green with coppery red spangles The lower belly and flanks are buffy to grayish white the vent is dark gray and the undertail coverts dark green with rufous tips One specimen lacks the central tail feathers the other specimen s are bronze green with broad black tips The other tail feathers are brownish black The tail feathers are progressively longer from the innermost to the outermost but the outermost are not as dramatically longer as in other thorntails 6 Status editThe IUCN has assessed Letitia s thorntail as Data Deficient 1 Its distribution is uncertain due to doubts over provenance of specimens so it is possible that the species still exists undetected elsewhere than Bolivia 7 References edit a b BirdLife International 2016 Coppery Thorntail Discosura letitiae IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22687265A93146232 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22687265A93146232 en Retrieved 24 January 2022 Appendices CITES cites org Retrieved 2022 01 14 Gill F Donsker D Rasmussen P eds January 2022 Hummingbirds IOC World Bird List v 12 1 Retrieved January 15 2022 HBW and BirdLife International 2020 Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5 Available at http datazone birdlife org userfiles file Species Taxonomy HBW BirdLife Checklist v5 Dec20 zip xls zipped 1 MB retrieved May 27 2021 Beolens Bo Watkins Michael Grayson Michael 2014 The Eponym Dictionary of Birds 1 Aufl ed London u a Bloomsbury Publ ISBN 978 1 4729 0573 4 a b Graves G R 1999 Taxonomic notes on hummingbirds Aves Trochilidae 2 Popelairia letitiae Bourcier amp Mulsant 1852 is a valid species Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 112 4 804 812 Retrieved January 24 2022 Zuchner T P F D Boesman and C J Sharpe 2020 Coppery Thorntail Discosura letitiae 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 coptho2 01 retrieved January 24 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Letitia 27s thorntail amp oldid 1183020225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
