Peruvian sheartail

Appearance

"Thaumastura cora" can reach a length of about 13 to 15 cm in males, of about 7 to 7.5 cm in females. These tiny hummingbirds have a greatly elongated tail streamers and a short and straight black bill. The basic color of the plumage is iridescent green, with a white or light gray belly and an iridescent rosy purple to turquoise throat.

The weight of this species is reportedly 2 to 2.5 g, with an average mass of approximately 2.2 g, which makes it one of the lightest birds alive. It seems to be the lightest known birds species found in South America, some 11,500 times lighter than the greater rhea, the heaviest extant South American bird. Although other extremely diminutive South American hummingbirds, i.e. woodstars from the genera "Myrmia" and "Chaetocercus" based upon their tiny total lengths, may rival the Peruvian sheartail in lightness but have no published weights.

Distribution

This species can be found in Peru west of the Andes and has been recorded in Ecuador. It has spread into northernmost Chile in recent decades.

Behavior

These hummingbirds feed on nectar of flowering cacti, shrubs and trees.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are lower slopes and semi-arid coastal zone of Andes, at an elevation up to 2,400 metres above sea level, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.