Rufous-booted racket-tail

Appearance

All racket-tails have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Only the male has elongated outer rectrices that have bare shafts with terminal flags. On both the "annae" and "addae" racket-tails, those feathers are decurved and cross; the flags are asymmetric ellipses. Male rufous-booted racket-tails are 11 to 15 cm long including the 5.5 to 6 cm long outer tail feathers, and weigh 2.5 to 2.7 g. Females are 7.6 to 9 cm long and weigh 2.6 to 3.2 g. Both sexes of "annae" and "addae" have greenish upperparts without a glittering forehead, both have a white spot behind the eye, and both have buff leg puffs. Males of "annae" have a greenish gray throat and a solid green belly. Their tail flags are dark bronzy purple. Females have a white throat and breast heavily spotted with green. Males of "addae" have a mostly white throat with some green and a white belly with green spots. Their tail flags are greenish black. Like "annae", females have a white throat and breast heavily spotted with green.

Distribution

The "annae" rufous-booted racket-tail is found on the east slope of the Andes of central and southern Peru. The "addae" rufous-booted racket-tail is found on the east slope of the Bolivian Andes.

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so recognizes only one species of "Ocreatus" as the booted racket-tail. It has assessed the species as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats are known. The racket-tail complex as a whole is very common and occurs in several protected areas.

Habitat

The species favors the edges of humid to wet forest but is also found in the forest interior and in more open secondary forest. It is most numerous at elevations between 1,600 and 2,200 m but is found as low as 600 m and as high as 4,000 m.

Reproduction

The rufous-booted racket-tail's breeding season has not been studied but might include most of the year. It makes a tiny cup nest of plant fiber and lichen, typically on a horizontal twig 6 to 8 m above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 16 to 17 days; fledging occurs 19 to 22 days after hatch.

Food

The rufous-booted racket-tail typically forages between 6 and 18 m above the ground. It takes nectar from a variety of plants such as those of genera "Palicourea", "Clusia", "Inga", and "Cavendishia". Often several birds will feed close together. In addition to feeding on nectar it captures small insects by hawking from a perch.