Metallura iracunda
The Perijá Metaltail, *Metallura iracunda*, is a captivating, diminutive hummingbird endemic to the high-altitude cloud forests of the Serranía de Perijá. Measuring approximately 10-11 cm in length and weighing around 4-5 grams, this species is characterized by its iridescent plumage. Males typically exhibit a brilliant, glittering emerald-green gorget and a deeply forked, metallic purplish-bronze tail, which can appear coppery or greenish depending on the light. The rest of its body is prima...
This species primarily inhabits humid montane cloud forests, elfin forests, and paramo edge habitats. It is typically found at elevations ranging from 1,800 to 3,200 meters above sea level.
The diet primarily consists of nectar extracted from various flowering plants, supplemented significantly by small insects such as flies, beetles, and spiders, which provide essential protein. They forage by hovering at flowers and hawking for insects in flight or gleaning them from vegetation.
Perijá Metaltails are diurnal, actively foraging during daylight hours and likely roosting solitarily in sheltered vegetation at night. They employ a typical hummingbird foraging strategy, hovering deftly to extract nectar from a variety of flowers, particularly those with small, tubular corollas...
The Perijá Metaltail has an extremely restricted and fragmented range, being endemic solely to the Serranía de Perijá, a mountain range that forms part of the northernmost Andes on the border between northern Colombia (Cesar and La Guajira departments) and northwestern Venezuela (Zulia state). It...
Critically Endangered
- The Perijá Metaltail is endemic to an incredibly small and isolated mountain range, the Serranía de Perijá, which straddles the border between Colombia and Venezuela. - Its scientific name, *iracunda*, means "irate" or "irascible," likely referring to its feisty and territorial nature, common a...