Heliomaster longirostris (Audebert & Vieillot, 1801)

Taxonomy and Body Length

The long-billed starthroat, Heliomaster longirostris (Audebert & Vieillot, 1801), is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long. Males weigh 5.5 to 7.1 g (0.19 to 0.25 oz), while females weigh approximately 6.5 g (0.23 oz).

Common Bill and Head Marking

All subspecies of both sexes have a long, almost straight black bill, and a small white spot behind the eye.

Nominate Male Crown Color

Males of the nominate subspecies have a glittering blue to greenish blue crown.

Nominate Male Upperparts

The rest of their upperparts are dark bronzy green, with a white stripe running down the center of the rump.

Nominate Male Facial Markings

Below the crown, the face is black, with a white malar stripe below the black area.

Nominate Male Tail Structure

The tail is fairly short and square-tipped; the tail feathers are bronzy green near the body and black further from the body, and the outer two or three pairs of feathers have white tips.

Nominate Male Underparts

The nominate male's chin is black, its gorget is dark metallic purple, its breast is gray with bronzy green sides, its lower breast and belly are dull white, and its undertail coverts are gray with white edges.

Nominate Female Plumage Differences

Nominate females are very similar to males, but the blue crown color is much reduced or entirely absent, and the gorget is narrower and dusky gray.

Subspecies H. l. pallidiceps Traits

Subspecies H. l. pallidiceps has a more greenish blue crown than the nominate, and its breast sides are golden bronze.

Subspecies H. l. albicrissa Traits

H. l. albicrissa is identical to the nominate subspecies except that its undertail coverts are mostly to entirely white.

H. l. pallidiceps Distribution

Regarding distribution and habitat, the northernmost subspecies is H. l. pallidiceps, which occurs from southern Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador into Nicaragua.

Nominate Subspecies Distribution Range

The nominate subspecies, H. l. longirostris, is the most widespread. It is found from Costa Rica through Panama, south into South America as far as eastern Peru and eastern Bolivia, east through the Guianas well into Brazil, and also occurs on Trinidad.

H. l. albicrissa Distribution

H. l. albicrissa has a restricted range in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru.

Species Habitat Preferences

The species lives in a variety of humid semi-open landscapes, including woodland edges, isolated woodlands, pastures with scattered trees, gallery forest, and secondary forest. It avoids the interior of closed-canopy forest.

Elevation Range

It occurs in lowlands and foothills, with an elevation range from sea level up to about 1,500 m (4,900 ft).