Violet-headed Hummingbird
Klais guimeti
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyTrochilidae (Hummingbirds)
- GenusKlais
- SpeciesKlais guimeti (Violet-headed Hummingbird)
About the Violet-headed Hummingbird
The violet-headed hummingbird (Klais guimeti) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is the only species in the genus Klais. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
The violet-headed hummingbird was formally described in 1843 by the French ornithologist Jules Bourcier from specimens collected near Caracas in Venezuela. Bourcier coined the binomial name Trochilus guimeti. The violet-headed hummingbird is now the only species placed in the genus Klais that was introduced in 1854 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus is named after Kleis (or Cleis), the daughter of the Lesbian poet Sappho. The specific name was chosen to honour the French chemist Jean-Baptiste Guimet.
Three subspecies are recognised: K. g. merrittii (Lawrence, 1860) – east Honduras to east Panama K. g. guimeti (Bourcier, 1843) – east Colombia and north Venezuela to east Ecuador and extreme north Peru K. g. pallidiventris Stolzmann, 1926 – east Peru and west Bolivia
Violet-headed hummingbirds are on average 8.1 cm (3.2 in) in length with a... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Violet-headed Hummingbird in Sierra de la Macarena National Park
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Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.