Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

The rainbow-bearded thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani) is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. == Taxonomy and systematics == The rainbow-bearded thornbill was formally described in 1846 by the French ornithologists Adolphe Delattre and Jules Bourcier from specimens collected near the town of Pasto in southwest Colombia. They coined the binomial name Trochilus herrani. This bird is now one of five species placed in the genus Chalcostigma that was introduced in 1854 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. (The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society is considering a proposal to merge the genus into Oxypogon). The genus name derives from the Greek khalkos ″bronze″ and stigma ″mark″. The specific epithet herrani was chosen to honor the Colombian general and statesman Pedro Alcántara Herrán. Two subspecies are recognised: C. h. tolimae Kleinschmidt, O, 1927 C. h. herrani (Delattre & Bourcier, 1846) == Description == The rainbow-bearded thornbill is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long. Males weigh about 6.2 g (0.22 oz) and females 5.6 g (0.20 oz). Both sexes have a short, needle-like bill. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly…