Discosura letitiae
The Letitia's Thorntail (Discosura letitiae) is an enigmatic and exquisitely adorned hummingbird, measuring a diminutive 7.5 cm (3 inches) in length and weighing just 2.5-3 grams. Males are particularly striking, boasting iridescent green upperparts, a brilliant emerald throat, and a short, straight black bill. Their most distinctive feature is a deeply forked, 'thorny' tail, predominantly coppery-rufous with dark central rectrices and a unique spiky appearance. Females are duller, with a les...
Found primarily in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and their edges, typically at elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters.
Primarily feeds on nectar from a variety of flowering plants, supplemented with small insects and spiders for protein, all obtained via hovering flight.
Letitia's Thorntail exhibits classic hummingbird behavior, actively foraging during daylight hours and retreating to sheltered perches at night. It is a solitary and highly territorial species, vigorously defending rich nectar sources from other hummingbirds and insects with aggressive aerial cha...
The Letitia's Thorntail possesses an exceptionally restricted and poorly understood geographic distribution, primarily known from a handful of scattered localities in the Andean foothills of central Bolivia. Historically, records exist from Cochabamba and Santa Cruz departments in Bolivia, with a...
Least Concern
- Despite its 'Least Concern' conservation status, Letitia's Thorntail is one of the most poorly known and rarely seen hummingbirds in the world. - Its scientific name, *letitiae*, honors Laetitia, the wife of French ornithologist René Lesson, who first described the species in 1839. - The male's...