Horned Sungem
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Horned Sungem | ||||||||||||||
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Heliactin bilophus (Temminck, 1820) |
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The Horned Sungem (Heliactin bilophus) is a South American hummingbird, the only species, (monotypic), of the genus Heliactin. The scientific name bilophus is sometimes considered a nomen oblitum, which, if accepted, results in Heliactin cornutus being the correct name for this species. It can achieve 90 wingbeats per second when it's hovering to drink nectar from flowers. A wingbeat is one complete up-and-down movement, which means that the horned sungem moves its wing muscles at a rate of more than 10,000 times per minute. It prefers fairly dry open or semi-open habitats, such as savanna and Cerrado. It avoids dense humid forest.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Heliactin bilophus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 02 May 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
[edit] External links
- Mangoverde.com page with photos
- Another page with photos
- Photo: (close-up)
- Horned Sunlgem rangemap InfoNatura NatureServe
- Stamps (for Brazil)
- Horned Sungem photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res