Includes Gould's Inca
- Coeligena torquata
Identification
- Long straight black bill
- Mostly green but in male with black in head and upper back.
- Blue area on crown and white spot behind eye
- Lightly forked tail where the outer tail feathers have a large area of white.
- Green and black throat
- Large white area on upper breast
Variation
Southern subspecies have less black and blue and more green in the head and crown areas. Female of subspecies eisenmanni has throat with some buff, similar to Gould's Inca.
Distribution
North-western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Taxonomy
Gould's Inca and Green Inca were formally included in this species.
Subspecies
There are 5 subspecies[1]
- C. t. torquata:
- Andes of Colombia to north-western Venezuela (Táchira) and northern Peru
- C. t. fulgidigula:
- Andes of western Ecuador
- C. t. margaretae:
- Andes of northern Peru (Chachapoyas)
- C. t. insectivora:
- Andes of central Peru
- C. t. eisenmanni:
- Southern Peru (Cordillera Vilcabamba)
Habitat
Forests in upper subtropical and temperate zones, mainly between 1800-3000 m asl with some geographical variation.
Behaviour
Seems to use routes through the forest to visit flowers with set intervals.
Diet
The diet includes nectar and insects.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- SACC proposal to split into two species (not passed)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Collared Inca. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Collared_Inca
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
