The Marvelous Spatuletail is a small hummingbird restricted to a tiny area inside the Uctubamba Valley in the Peruvian Andes. This small hummingbird is known from three areas (north and south-east of Leimebamba, the Chachapoyas area and Florida, on the shore of Lago Pomacochas). However, the only recent records are from Florida.
It lives at the edge of humid forest, secondary growth and in dense shrubbery. Its preferred food-plant is the red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima, but it has been observed feeding on at least five other species of flowering plant.
The breeding season is thought to run from late October to early May. Adult males (which are greatly outnumbered by females and immature males) gather at leks where they display to attract females.
Distribution Map
Map: Xeno-Canto
As this bird species is restricted to a small area of habitat, it is classified as an endangered species according to BirdLife. Fortunately, there are some conservation projects going on to help this situation. ECOAN, a Peruvian NGO, with the support of the American Bird Conservancy, is working to create a reserve for this hummingbird and to restore it’s natural habitat. Ecotourism could play an important role in the conservation of the Marvelous Spatuletail by giving an alternative income to the local population in such as way as to simultaneously support the preservation of the bird’s habitat.
Perhaps one of the most striking features of this species is the extremely long male raquet tail. Take a look into this video to see how the male use his tail to attract females.
Need more information? Read this fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas.
Plate: John Gould (1849): A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds, plate 161.
