OBSERVATIONS ON THE BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE MEXICAN WOODNYMPH HUMMINGBIRD EUPHERUSA RIDGWAYI IN NAYARIT, MEXICO
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58843/ornneo.v37i1.1535Keywords:
breeding season, hummingbird reproduction, Mexican endemic hummingbirds, nest description, nesting behavior, nestling developmentAbstract
Many Neotropical birds, like the threatened, endemic Mexican Woodnymph Eupherusa ridgwayi, lack fundamental information on their breeding biology. Between 2021–2024, in March, July, and November, we discovered four nests of the Mexican Woodnymph in shade-coffee plantations and cloud forests in Nayarit, Mexico. These cup-shaped nests, mainly made of moss and fern, were built on understory branches, 1 m above the ground, on shady banks near roads or streams. Courtship involved males performing side-to-side and forward-backward flight. Three nests had two eggs (12.8 x 7.7 mm, N = 6 eggs) each. Two nests hatched two chicks, but only one chick per nest survived. Nestling plumage became sexually dimorphic 17–20 days after hatching —an unusual trait for nestling hummingbirds. Chicks fledged on days 25–26 and remained nearby for 2 weeks. Our study quadruples nest number and expands knowledge of nestling development, post-fledging care, and breeding season for the Mexican Woodnymph.
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