One of the 11 hummingbirds on WAnimals
Birds · Apodiformes · Trochilidae
Juan Fernandez Firecrown
Sephanoides fernandensis
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
The Juan Fernández firecrown — known in Spanish as colibrí de Juan Fernández or picaflor rojo — is endemic to a single island of the Chilean Juan Fernández archipelago and one of the most threatened birds in the Americas. The male is an intense cinnamon red and the female green and white with iridescent spots, so unlike each other that they were described as separate species. It depends on the island's native plants, many of them also threatened. Cats, rats and invasive plants have reduced its population to a few hundred birds.
Weight
10 g – 11 g
Size
11 cm – 13 cm
Lifespan
8 years
Diet
Nectarivore
Feeds mainly on flower nectar.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
Around 400 individuals
Fun facts
- Male and female are so different that for decades they were catalogued as two separate species: he a uniform cinnamon red, she iridescent green with white spots.
- The entire species lives on an island of less than fifty square kilometres, and its survival depends on the simultaneous survival of the native plants it feeds on, several of which are themselves on the brink of extinction.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Native forest and scrub of Robinson Crusoe Island, in the Juan Fernández archipelago, Chile
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 18 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephanoides_fernandensis
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Juan Fernandez Firecrown — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Masafuera Rayadito
Aphrastura masafuerae
Green-backed Firecrown
Sephanoides sephaniodes
Giant Hummingbird
Patagona gigas
Sword-billed Hummingbird
Ensifera ensifera
Least ConcernShining Sunbeam
Aglaeactis cupripennis
Cuban Emerald
Chlorostilbon ricordii
How to help
The juan fernandez firecrown is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 1 real protected area — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about juan fernandez firecrown.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the juan fernandez firecrown.
Be the first to comment.