<trp-post-container data-trp-post-id='359525'>Brazilian Ruby
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En bref
- Scientific Name: Clytolaema rubricauda
- Spanish Name: Colibrí rubí brasileño
- Famille : Trochilidae
- Known Nicknames: Brazilian ruby, Red-tailed comet
- Longueur moyenne : 10 à 12 cm / 3,9 à 4,7 pouces
- Average Weight: 5–7 g / 0.18–0.25 oz
- Envergure : N/A
- Key Feature: Iridescent ruby-red throat and upper breast in males, forked tail with coppery-red feathers
- Primary Diet: Nectarivore (supplemented with small insects)
- Range: Eastern Brazil (from Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul)
- Habitat: Atlantic Forest, montane and coastal forests, forest edges, and gardens
- Social Structure: Solitary (except during breeding)
- Nesting/Breeding: Cup-shaped nest on a horizontal tree branch
- Statut de conservation : Préoccupation mineure (LC)
- Évolution démographique : En baisse
The Brazilian Ruby (*Clytolaema rubricauda*) is a dazzling hummingbird endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, renowned for its fiery, iridescent gorget that flashes brilliant ruby-red in the sunlight. Males are particularly striking, with a glittering emerald-green body, a dark forked tail, and a long, slightly decurved bill perfectly adapted for sipping nectar from tubular flowers like those of the *Heliconia* and bromeliads. A unique feature of this species is its specialized tail feathers: the male’s outer tail feathers are elongated and stiff, producing a distinctive, insect-like whirring sound during its high-speed courtship dives. Despite its vivid appearance, the Brazilian Ruby is often a solitary and territorial bird, fiercely defending its feeding patches from other hummingbirds, and its rapid, buzzing flight makes it a flash of living gemstone in the dappled forest understory.
Faits amusants
Despite its name, the Brazilian Ruby is not actually a ruby; its dazzling, iridescent gorget shifts between fiery red, orange, and gold depending on the light, making it appear to change color as it moves. A quirky behavior is its aggressive "tail-pumping" display during territorial disputes, where it rapidly fans and vibrates its forked tail while hovering to intimidate rivals. Remarkably, this hummingbird can enter a state of torpor on cold nights, dropping its body temperature to conserve energy, and it has a specialized, brush-tipped tongue perfectly adapted to extract nectar from long, tubular flowers.
Habitats et répartition
Endemic to Brazil, the Brazilian Ruby is primarily found along the coastal Atlantic Forest, from the state of Bahia south to Santa Catarina. Its preferred habitats include humid montane forests, forest edges, and well-vegetated restinga, often favoring areas with abundant flowering bromeliads and epiphytes. It is also known to inhabit secondary growth, gardens, and plantations near forest fragments, ranging from sea level up to approximately 1,200 meters in elevation.
Comportements & Reproduction
The Brazilian Ruby is generally solitary outside of breeding, with males defending small, flower-rich feeding territories. Mating is a brief, aerial affair; the male performs a U-shaped dive display to impress a visiting female, but no pair bond forms. The female alone builds a small cup nest, incubates two white eggs for about 13-15 days, and feeds the chicks with regurgitated nectar and insects until they fledge at 20-25 days. A unique reproductive strategy involves the female’s cryptic nesting behavior, often placing the nest over water or near wasp nests to deter predators, and she may raise two broods in a single breeding season.
Alimentation
The Brazilian Ruby, a species of hummingbird, primarily feeds on nectar from a variety of tubular flowers, using its long, specialized tongue to lap up the sugary liquid. It is also an adept insectivore, actively catching small spiders and insects like flies and gnats to obtain essential proteins, fats, and minerals, particularly during the breeding season. An interesting fact about its diet is that it will frequently defend rich nectar sources aggressively, chasing away larger hummingbirds and even insects from its chosen feeding territories. Additionally, these birds have been observed consuming small amounts of tree sap and pollen, which may supplement their nutritional intake when flowers are scarce.
Couleurs
The Brazilian Ruby displays a striking sexual dichromatism: males have a brilliant ruby-red throat and chest, iridescent green upperparts, and a dark forked tail with bronzy tones, while females are duller with white underparts streaked with green and a white stripe behind the eye. Both sexes lack specialized camouflage, but the female’s muted plumage provides effective concealment when nesting.
Distribution Map
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