Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata)

Other Names (World)
Fork-tailed Woodnymph, Princess Woodnymph, Common Woodnymph, Cayenne Woodnymph

Family
Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)

Size
9.50 - 10.50 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gmelin, 1788)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland moist forest, swamp forest. From sea-level - 1,700 m.

Range (Guide)

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (65)...)

Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata) [XC98270]
by Eric DeFonso from Wildsumaco, 5km NW Guagua Sumaco, Napo, Ecuador (song)

Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata) [XC659524]
by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Alto Para\u00edso de Goi\u00e1s, Alto Para\u00edso de Goi\u00e1s, Goi\u00e1s, Brazil (call, flight call, batido de asas)

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Mexican Woodnymph (Thalurania ridgwayi), Crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) and Green-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania fannyi). Species limits unclear, and all have been considered conspecific. Alternatively, mostly dull-crowned and more green-backed forms are sometimes separated in present species from the other three lumped as another species with glittering crowns and more violet on back. Of the subspecies currently recognized, most are based on variations in coloration of adult male, and several doubtfully valid. Subspecies baeri and eriphile, with glittering green frontlets, were in past separated as Thalurania eriphile, but former intergrades with adjacent dull-crowned subspecies in Brazil, indicating potential pitfalls of attributing taxonomic significance to this feature. Subspecies jelskii represents zone of intergradation of viridipectus, simoni and boliviana; furcatoides intergrades with balzani and baeri where their ranges meet in north-central and central Brazil. "Thalurania lerchi", known from Bogota trade skins, is apparently a hybrid with Golden-tailed Sapphire (Chrysuronia oenone). "Eucephala scapulata", known from single specimen from French Guiana, is probably a hybrid with Blue-chinned Sapphire (Chlorostilbon notatus). Name tschudii should perhaps replace jelskii and, if so, jelskii may be correct name for current subspecies boliviana.

Proposed subspecies taczanowskii (north-eastern Peru) not reliably separable from viridipectus.

The following 13 subspecies are recognised:

refulgens Gould, 1853 - North-eastern Venezuela; erroneously reported from Trinidad.
furcata (Gmelin, 1788) - Extreme eastern Venezuela, the Guianas and north-eastern Brazil (north of Amazon).
fissilis von Berlepsch & Hartert, 1902 - Eastern Venezuela and adjacent extreme western Guyana and north-eastern Brazil.
orenocensis Hellmayr, 1921 - Upper Orinoco region of southern Venezuela.
nigrofasciata (Gould, 1846) - South-eastern Colombia, north-western Brazil (upper R Negro) and extreme southern Venezuela.
viridipectus Gould, 1848 - Eastern foothills of Andes and adjacent lowlands of eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and north-eastern Peru.
jelskii Taczanowski, 1874 - Most of eastern Peru and adjacent Brazil.
simoni Hellmayr, 1906 - Upper Amazon region (south of Amazon) in extreme eastern Peru and western Brazil.
balzani Simon, 1896 - North-central Brazil (south of Amazon).
furcatoides Gould, 1861 - Lower Amazon region of eastern Brazil (south of Amazon).
boliviana Boucard, 1894 - Andean foothills and adjacent lowlands of south-eastern Peru and north-eastern Bolivia.
baeri Hellmayr, 1907 - North-eastern and central Brazil to south-eastern Bolivia and north-western and north-central Argentina.
eriphile (Lesson, R, 1832) - South-eastern Brazil, adjacent Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina (Misiones).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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