Rufous-capped Thornbill

Chalcostigma ruficeps (Gould, 1846)

Spanish: Colibrí Capirrufo

The Rufous-capped Thornbill (Chalcostigma ruficeps) is a hummingbird in the subfamily Lesbiinae (coquettes and brilliants), tribe Lesbiini (coquettes). It weighs about 3.4 g and its bill is 15.8 mm long. It lives in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least concern, with a decreasing population.

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At a glance

Weight

3.4 g, about 3 paperclips

Bill

15.8 mm

Lives in

Forest

Moves

Stays put all year

Red List status

Least concern, decreasing

Its place in the family

1. Family Trochilidae hummingbirds
2. Subfamily Lesbiinae coquettes and brilliants
3. Tribe Lesbiini coquettes
4. Genus Chalcostigma thornbills

What Chalcostigma share: Short bills.

Where it lives · 3 countries

• Peru
• Ecuador
• Bolivia

Others in the genus Chalcostigma

• Olivaceous Thornbill Chalcostigma olivaceum
• Blue-mantled Thornbill Chalcostigma stanleyi
• Bronze-tailed Thornbill Chalcostigma heteropogon
• Rainbow-bearded Thornbill Chalcostigma herrani

Sources

Names: eBird/Clements Checklist (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). Groups: Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and McGuire et al. (2014). Weight, bill, habitat and movement: AVONET (Tobias et al. 2022, CC BY 4.0). Countries: BirdLife International DataZone, checked against eBird records via GBIF. Red List status and trend: BirdLife International, the IUCN Red List authority for birds.

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