Black-bellied thorntail

The black-bellied thorntail (Discosura langsdorffi) is a slow flying species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae.[2] It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest at about a 100-300m altitude.[3] It stays high in the forest which explains the lack of scientific information on it.[4] The male will attract the female by fanning out their tail and zooming side-to-side with a loud cracking sound.[2] Generally they'd only make a quick “tsip” or “chip” noise when feeding.[3]

Black-bellied thorntail
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Genus:	Discosura
Species:	D. langsdorffi
Binomial name
Discosura langsdorffi Temminck, 1821
Synonyms
Popelairia langsdorffi (Temminck, 1821)

Black-bellied Thorntail

This species has a knack for stealing nectar from flowers in other hummingbird territories.[2] Alongside nectar from flowering plants it will hunt for arthropods.[3]

Subspecies

• D. l. melanosternon (Gould, 1868) – S Venezuela and SE Colombia S to E Ecuador, E Peru and W Brazil (R Madeira, R Guaporé, R Negro, W Mato Grosso).
• D. l. langsdorffi (Temminck, 1821) – coast of E Brazil (SE Bahia, Espírito Santo, E Rio de Janeiro).

References

1. BirdLife International (2012). "Discosura langsdorffi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url
2. "Black-bellied Thorntail - Introduction | Neotropical Birds Online". neotropical.birds.cornell.edu. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
3. "Black-bellied Thorntail (Discosura langsdorffi)". www.hbw.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
4. "(PDF) Hummingbirds of Santa Teresa, State of Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil". ResearchGate. Retrieved 26 May 2019.