Marvelous Spatuletail

Latin Name: mirabilis Marvelous

Considered an endangered species

The most beautiful hummingbird, endemic to Peru with a population and territory in the Valley of Uctubamba, rainforest, cloudy and very dense secondary forest in northern Peru, at an altitude of 2000 to 2900 meters above sea level, male from14 to 15 centimeter-, females 9 to 10 centimeters long.

The information we have it is from the north of Peru, Pomacocha, Vista Florida, Chido and Huembo, It is located within the Rio Utcubamba Valley. En this areas the Nonprofit Organization ECOAN, The Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinos, is hardly working for recovery of this species and stablished an agro-forestry plot at the Huembo reserve area, have good relations and work together with local people and the results work is satisfactory.

ECOAN information: http://www.ecoanperu.org/lechucitabigotona/eblb_eng_huembo.htm

Field observation report of Mavellous spatuletail April 8th to May 16th, 2010.

Santos Montenegro and his brother Wylmer were experts in the area, both of them work for ECOAN project, the marvellous spatuletail has well camouflaged nests close to the ground almost impossible to see if you are not use to it, the whole area was well known by the two brothers.

This year the nesting time it was relatively late and we don't had a change to see mothers feeding young in their nest, since the nests where still with eggs.

More than 18 species of flowers feeds the Mavellous spatuletail at the area, where flowering season start from November to June. (Ecoan information).

Leck dances are performed between November through May, and the most active periods is from February to April, the tail develops for the mating season and have until late July or so, at this observation time we sow a par male of Marvellous spatuletail with only one long spatuletail at the leck.

The tails are highly maneuverable, during the dance they raise the spatuletail tail above the head and show the spatulas as two panels, the colors of the neck and head acquire fluorescent colors, females should make efforts for each male to avoid courting and focus on achieving the best.

The mails make an acrobatic movements on the perch and flying around the leck, the same time we look at dance place juveniles observing and dancing at perch of adult males, probably to learn dance techniques?.

Each male selects a perch with a very thin vertically dry branch , within a radius of 10 meters territory, a height of 2 to 4 meters above the ground, the place is very dense with difficult access, probably chosen by males to protect themselves from attack by predators, since during the dance time are easy to locate, by the noise they make with the beak during the display, sounds like click, click.

The high concentration of energy and activity in the dance, let them access the most precious gift, to be chosen by the female. The female to land on the perch of a male produces an acceleration of the display of the male owner of the perch, who dance around the female and the hanger, which corresponds to the female jumps and flips in the hanger always observing the male if not awakened her interest in the female moves away from the hanger, if male is been chose the copulation happen during the display.

Males compete dancing, which is a way to demonstrate power and strength. Males to compete on its perch and be able to attract the female should have access to good territory with flowers, to recover their energy that dance require. At the same time we sow male eating mosquito.

There is high rate of mortality during the nesting time, from five nests monitored, three nest disappeared since April 28th until May 16th, this indicates that mortality rate is high during nesting time. One nest disappeared with even small babies, the other two nests disappeared when they were still eggs, where one female has been eaten during incubations, only the feathers where left close to the nest.

At the end of our fork we left two active nests, one nest with eggs and one with eight days newly hatched chick.

We hope this specie can recover their population and the local people could be part of this objective, the research of the Marvellous spatuletail will help to make proper management of this species.

Tourism is one of the alternatives, the incoming may assist in the implementation to improve the quality of life for local people.

Of course it is important that local organizations with international connections, local, regional and central government, consider that the protection of this species consider the recovery and implementation of the habitat of this species.