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Bird name:

Plain-capped Starthroat

Heliomaster constantiiOrder: APODIFORMES Family: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
Codes: Common Name: PCST Scientific Name: HELCON ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178088

Breeding Location:

Forest, Marshes



Breeding Type:

Solitary nester



Breeding Population:

Casual to rare



Egg Color:

White



Number of Eggs:

2



Incubation Days:

16.19



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Lichen, bark, spider web, pale plant.



Migration:

Nonmigratory



Splitbar

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Attracting Clingers

General

Plain-capped Starthroat: Medium-sized hummingbird with iridescent bronze-green upperparts and head, red throat, white face interrupted by black eyestripe, and pale gray underparts. Slightly notched tail is bronze-green with white-tipped black terminal band. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark gray-brown throat.

Range and Habitat

Plain-capped Starthroat: Casual to rare visitor to the U.S. in southeast Arizona; common in Mexico. Preferred habitats include tropical deciduous forests, cottonwood-willow streamside forests, and oak woodlands.

Breeding and Nesting

Plain-capped Starthroat: Two white eggs are laid in a nest made of plant down, lichens, and bits of bark, and built on a branch tip at the forest edge or in a savanna. Incubation ranges from 16 to 19 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Plain-capped Starthroat: Eats insects and nectar; forages by catching insects in mid-air and hover-gleaning insects high in the canopy.

Vocalization

Plain-capped Starthroat: Song is a series of sharp "chips." Call is a sharp, loud "peeek."

Similar Species

Plain-capped Starthroat: Blue-throated Hummingbird has blue-gray underparts, dark blue tail with bold white tip, blue throat (gray in female). Magnificent Hummingbird has black breast and belly and purple crown; female has green tail with pale gray tips on outer feathers.

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Family Hummingbird (Trochilidae)
Species Heliomaster constantii
Length4 - 5 Inches
Wingspan5.5 Inches

Plain-capped Starthroat

Plain-capped Starthroat: Medium-sized hummingbird with iridescent bronze-green upperparts and head, red throat, white face interrupted by black eyestripe, and pale gray underparts. Slightly notched tail is bronze-green with white-tipped black terminal band. Direct and hovering flight.

● Song: "chip", "peeek"

● Foraging & Feeding: Plain-capped Starthroat: Eats insects and nectar; forages by catching insects in mid-air and hover-gleaning insects high in the canopy.

● Breeding & nesting: Plain-capped Starthroat: Two white eggs are laid in a nest made of plant down, lichens, and bits of bark, and built on a branch tip at the forest edge or in a savanna. Incubation ranges from 16 to 19 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Plain-capped Starthroat: Blue-throated Hummingbird has blue-gray underparts, dark blue tail with bold white tip, blue throat (gray in female). Magnificent Hummingbird has black breast and belly and purple crown; female has green tail with pale gray tips on outer feathers.

Flight Pattern

Direct and hovering flight with very rapid wing beats.
Plain-capped Starthroat Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Plain-capped Starthroat: Casual to rare visitor to the U.S. in southeast Arizona; common in Mexico. Preferred habitats include tropical deciduous forests, cottonwood-willow streamside forests, and oak woodlands.
BreedingSolitary nester
PopulationCasual to rare
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.2 Ounces
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
Terminal bandX
Refers to the contrasting stripe at the tip of the tail.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX