The purple headed hummingbird is a rare and stunningly beautiful bird found in the mountains of Ecuador. With its vibrant purple head and emerald green body, it stands out against the cloud forest backdrop. Though small, it has an outsized importance in its ecosystem.
Appearance
The most striking feature of the purple headed hummingbird is its brilliant purple head, which shimmers in the sunlight. The purple extends from the tip of its bill to the back of its head. When the light hits just right, the purple coloring appears iridescent.
The rest of its body is primarily emerald green. Its back and wings are a vibrant green, while its underside is a slightly lighter green. This green coloring helps provide camouflage when the bird is feeding among leaves and trees.
Like all hummingbirds, the purple headed hummingbird has a long, slender bill that allows it to retrieve nectar from flowers. Its bill is black and slightly curved to match the shape of certain tropical blooms.
The tail of the purple headed hummingbird is primarily rufous, meaning reddish-brown. When perched, the bird often fans its tail open and shut. When in flight, the tail allows the bird to deftly maneuver through the air.
Adult females do not have the striking purple head. Instead, their heads are primarily brownish-green. However, the emerald green body feathers are identical between the males and females. Juveniles of both sexes resemble adult females until they reach maturity.
On average, the purple headed hummingbird reaches about 3.5 inches in length. Despite its small size, it has a bold and vivid appearance unlike any other hummingbird species.
Habitat
The purple headed hummingbird is endemic to a small region in northwestern Ecuador. Its extremely limited habitat is one reason this species is vulnerable to extinction.
This hummingbird lives exclusively in humid mountain forests between 4,600 and 9,800 feet in elevation. This high-altitude tropical cloud forest is cool and misty, with average temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Within this habitat, the purple headed hummingbird prefers scrubby vegetation and second growth forests. It thrives along forest edges and in natural clearings. Anywhere there is an abundance of flowering plants attracts this species.
Unfortunately, the purple headed hummingbird’s specialized high-elevation habitat is being degraded by logging, agriculture, and grazing. As forests are cleared, the hummingbird loses both home and food sources. Protecting remaining tracts of cloud forest in northwestern Ecuador is crucial for the species’ survival.
Diet
Like all hummingbirds, the purple headed hummingbird has a high metabolism. It must consume approximately half its weight in nectar each day.
The purple headed hummingbird uses its long tongue to retrieve nectar from a variety of high-altitude tropical flowers. Some of its favorite food sources include the following:
- Bromeliads
- Fuchsias
- Angel’s trumpets
- Passion flowers
This hummingbird prefers flowers with red blooms, since red flowers often contain higher concentrations of energy-rich sugars.
While nectar provides the majority of its diet, the purple headed hummingbird also consumes small insects for essential nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals. It may pluck tiny insects out of spider webs or snatch them from leaves and branches.
Unique Adaptations
The purple headed hummingbird possesses several key adaptations that allow it to survive on its highly specialized diet and in its demanding high-altitude habitat.
Feeding Adaptations
To feed on nectar, the purple headed hummingbird uses its specially adapted tongue and bill. Its tongue, when extended, is much longer than its bill. It also has fringed edges that help lap up liquid nectar.
The shape of its bill matches the curves of the tropical flowers it feeds from. This allows the hummingbird to neatly insert its bill into flowers to reach the nectar tucked inside.
Small Size
Weighing just a few grams, the diminutive purple headed hummingbird is built for agile, efficient flight. Its small size allows great maneuverability and hovering capability. It can access flower nectar from all angles, an advantage over larger birds.
High Metabolism
Hummingbirds have some of the fastest metabolisms of any animals. The purple headed hummingbird’s heart rate can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute when active. This rapid metabolism provides the energy needed for hovering flight and accessing widely scattered nectar sources.
Torpor
To conserve energy when food is scarce, the purple headed hummingbird can enter a state of torpor. Its metabolic rate slows, body temperature drops, and heart and breathing rates decrease. Torpor allows the bird to survive periods when few flowers are in bloom.
Life Cycle
The purple headed hummingbird follows an annual cycle tied closely to seasonal flowering and rain patterns. Here is a summary of its typical life stages throughout the year:
Breeding Season
The breeding season coincides with peak flower availability from December to April. Males perform elaborate courtship displays, flying in loops and arcs to attract females. Once paired, females build a small cup-shaped nest out of plant down, spider webs, and lichen. The nest is usually wedged onto a low tree branch.
Eggs and Hatchlings
The female purple headed hummingbird lays 1-2 tiny white eggs. She incubates them for 14-16 days. Once hatched, the chicks are only about 1 inch long but grow quickly on a diet of regurgitated nectar and insects. Chicks fledge the nest at 18-22 days old.
Maturity
Purple headed hummingbirds reach sexual maturity at about 1 year old. Their bright adult plumage comes in with the first molt. Lifespan in the wild is typically 3-5 years.
Dry Season
During the dry months of June through November, many flowers go dormant. The hummingbirds enter a period of lower activity and higher torpor use to survive the tougher conditions. They will migrate short distances in search of flowers.
By tracking the cycle of seasons, the purple headed hummingbird times key life events to align with peak resource availability.
Behavior and Communication
The purple headed hummingbird is a solitary species that interacts aggressively with other hummingbirds. They communicate using visual displays and vocalizations. Here are some of their key behaviors:
Feeding
The purple headed hummingbird feeds by traplining, visiting a regular circuit of flowering plants. Flowers replenish their nectar, so the hummingbird makes repeated passes throughout the day. If food is scarce, they may conserve energy by entering torpor.
Courtship Displays
To attract females, males perform athletic courtship displays. They fly in looping patterns, dive and climb at high speeds, and flare their vibrant plumage. Their courtship flight can be upright or inverted.
Calls and Songs
Male purple headed hummingbirds produce a high-pitched metallic “seep” call during courtship displays. At their nests, females make a rapid “chip” call. Around feeding sites, both genders issue an aggressive rattling and buzzing sound to drive intruders away.
Aggression
Purple headed hummingbirds are fiercely territorial, especially around prime feeding sites. They will chase away other hummingbirds that encroach on their territory. Males will also fight over mating opportunities with females. Aerial battles feature rapid diving and climbing as each bird tries to intimidate the other.
Sunning
Like other hummingbirds, the purple headed hummingbird will periodically perch in a sunny spot and orient its wings toward the sun. Sunning may help regulate body temperature or evaporate excess moisture from the birds’ feathers.
Anting
Anting describes the behavior in which birds rub insects, typically ants, on their bodies. Purple headed hummingbirds may ant in order to absorb secretions from ants that could help control parasites. The behavior may also supplement their preening regime.
Conservation Status
The brilliant coloration and rarity of the purple headed hummingbird have made it prized by collectors in the illegal pet trade. Habitat loss also threatens the species. For these reasons, its population is declining steeply, and its conservation status is dire.
- IUCN Red List Category: Critically Endangered
- Population Trend: Decreasing
Researchers estimate there are only between 250 – 999 mature purple headed hummingbirds left in the wild. The species is at extremely high risk for extinction.
Major conservation steps needed:
- Habitat protection
- Crackdown on illegal pet trade
- Ecotourism to fund conservation programs
- Captive breeding & reintroduction
Strict enforcement of trade laws are required to combat trapping for the pet trade. Preserving remaining tracts of Ecuadorian cloud forest is also essential for protecting food sources and nesting sites. Ecotourism focused on the purple headed hummingbird could provide an economic incentive for local communities to become invested in its conservation. Captive breeding programs may eventually help stabilize dangerously low population numbers.
There is hope that with swift action, this rare hummingbird can be pulled back from the brink. But greater awareness and robust conservation measures will be critical over the next decade to prevent extinction of this one-of-a-kind species. Its future survival now hangs in the balance.
Interesting Facts
Beyond its dazzling plumage, the purple headed hummingbird has many fascinating qualities. Here are some interesting facts about this special bird:
Record Holder
The purple headed hummingbird’s 120 body beats per minute is one of the highest heart rates of any animal on earth.
Iridescence
The purple headed hummingbird’s vibrant head plumage gets its color not from pigments, but from iridescent refraction of light off feather structures. When viewed at different angles, the purple can appear to shift to green or blue.
Tongue Twister
A purple headed hummingbird’s tongue is over 4 inches long. It can lick nectar over 10 times per second when feeding.
Teeny Tiny
Purple headed hummingbird eggs are only about half the size of a jellybean. Their nests are only 1.5 inches across.
Altitude Record Holder
The purple headed hummingbird has been recorded at higher elevations than any other hummingbird species, up to 14,700 feet.
Carbon Cycler
Purple headed hummingbirds play a key role in their ecosystem by transferring pollen between tropical flowers as they feed, supporting plant reproduction. This cycle keeps carbon fixed in rainforests.
Ruby Gorge
Male purple headed hummingbirds get their vibrant red tail feathers from carotenoid pigments obtained from their diet. If they don’t get enough carotenoids, their tail feathers will be yellowish instead of ruby red.
Distraction Display
If a predator gets too close to her nest, the mother purple headed hummingbird may perform a distraction display, flying conspicuously away from the nest while calling loudly to draw the predator’s attention.
Conclusion
The dazzling purple headed hummingbird is a true marvel of nature. Its specialized adaptations allow it survive the demanding conditions of its high-altitude cloud forest home in Ecuador. Sadly, habitat loss and the illegal pet trade have brought this species to the brink of extinction. However, conservation actions focused on habitat protection and strict trade enforcement could still save the purple headed hummingbird. Spreading awareness and support for the species will be key. The purple headed hummingbird has unique gifts to offer the world, if humanity will step up and protect it in time. With commitment, we can ensure this rare beauty keeps gracing its cloud forests for centuries to come.