#sephanoides

Juan Fernández Firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis), males, family Trochilidae, order Apodiformes, endemic to Isla Róbinson Crusoe, in the Juan Fernández archipelago, Chile

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

Juan Fernández Firecrown by Héctor Gutiérrez Guzmán, CC BY 2.0 

Etymology: Resembling a Diadem

First Described By: Gray, 1840

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Strisores, Daedalornithes, Apodiformes, Trochilidae, Trochilinae  

Referred Species: S. sephaniodes (Green-Backed Firecrown), S. fernandensis (Juan Fernández Firecrown)

Status: Extant, Critically Endangered - Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Firecrowns live in southern South America, as well as Isla Robinson Crusoe 

Physical Description: Firecrown Hummingbirds are distinctive for the reason you would indeed expect - their fiery heads! Both species have fancy feathers on their foreheads. Like all hummingbirds, these are quite small - ranging from 10 to 12 centimeters in length. The males generally have reddish coloration, while the females are more greenish. A lot of the differences between the sexes are species-based, however, and can be found in that section of this article. Like other hummingbirds they have long, thin, grey bills, and very long fluffy tails. Their wings are small and triangular for hovering. .

Diet: The Firecrowns are nectivores, feeding on a variety of flower nectar that they glean with their long beaks. They hover in order to stay near on a flower for a long time, in order to get enough food. The Juan Fernández species will also eat insects, especially during the chick rearing season. 

Green-Backed Firecrown by Suemili, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Behavior: These birds make songs of high-pitched, squeaky notes, and dry trills, as well as descending chatters. The Green-Backed Firecrown does migrate, wintering in the lowlands of Argentina, and moving back up to the north during the summer. The Juan Fernández species does not migrate.

These birds breed from September through November, making very small cup-shaped nests containing two white eggs. These nests can either be found in cover or over water. Very little else is known of their breeding behavior, though homosexual activity between males has been documented in this species. 

Green-Backed Firecrown by Felipebernala, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Ecosystem: The Firecrowns live in thick jungles and rainforests, usually at mid levels of vegetation; they can also be found in large numbers wherever trees are flowering (for fairly obvious reasons). They can be found near human-created habitats as well. The Juan Fernández Firecrown have their nests preyed upon by Austral Thrushes.

Other: The Green-Backed Firecrown is very common and is threatened currently by man-made environmental pressures; the Juan Fernández Firecrown is critically endangered, with a population of less than 2000 mature individuals. They seem to be threatened due to human activity, especially plant destruction, habitat disturbance, wood harvesting, introduced mammal predators and competitors, and other terrifying environmental distressors. Direct conservation actions are ongoing, and there are talks of breeding programs. 

Juan Fernández Firecrown Arthur Grosset, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Species Differences: The Green-Backed Firecrown is smaller than the Juan Fernández species, and it is also green all over its body in both sexes. Their wings are grey, and the major difference between males and females is that the males have iridescent orange crowns on their heads. The Juan Fernández Firecrown has completely orange males, with iridescent crowns; the females are green backed, with blue tails and blue iridescent crowns. They also have grey wings in both sexes. The Green-Backed Firecrown lives on the mainland of South America, while the Juan Fernández Firecrown is only found on Isla Robinson Crusoe.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

A male Juan Fernandez firecrown (Sephanoides fernandensis) hummingbird at Robinson Crusoe Island, in the Pacific Juan Fernandez Islands, off Chile

Photograph: Héctor Gutiérrez/Oikonos/AFP/Getty