First nesting account and breeding biology of “Gould's Inca” (Coeligena torquata omissa) in Manu National Park, Peru

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present the first detailed nesting biology information for the highland Andean hummingbird Gould's Inca (Coeligena torquata omissa) at 2,200–3,000 m in Manu National Park, SE Peru. We found nine mossy cup-shaped nests lined with red fern scales containing nestlings or 1–2 synchronously hatching eggs. We obtained 17 days of internal nest temperatures from one nest, which exhibited wide circadian variation (range = 14.9–36.2 °C). We show that C. t. omissa meets the challenges of life and incubation at high altitudes by undertaking numerous (20.3 ± 0.4 trips/morning, range = 14–27) and short morning off-bouts (5.2 ± 0.2 min, range = 1–24 min). In the morning, the focal bird warmed the nest 1.7 times faster than in the afternoon where incubation bouts are long (17.8 ± 0.6 min, range = 4–56) and less frequent (10.2 ± 0.3 trips/afternoon). Incubation off-bout frequency and durations were not influenced by external temperature, suggesting strong nest insulation. On-bout durations increased with exter...