Amazilia Explained

Amazilia is a hummingbird genus in the subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical Central and South America.

Taxonomy

The genus Amazilia was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist René Lesson.^[1] Lesson had used amazilia in 1827 as the specific epithet of the amazilia hummingbird which is now the only species placed in the genus Amazilis.^[2] The name comes from the Inca heroine in Jean-François Marmontel's novel Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'Empire du Pérou.^{[3] [4]} The type species was subsequently designated as the cinnamon hummingbird.^{[5] [6]}

The genus contains five species:^[7]

• Cinnamon hummingbird, Amazilia rutila
• Buff-bellied hummingbird, Amazilia yucatanensis
• Rufous-tailed hummingbird, Amazilia tzacatl
• Honduran emerald, Amazilia luciae
• Mangrove hummingbird, Amazilia boucardi

An additional species is sometimes included:

• Guanacaste hummingbird, Amazilia alfaroana (disputed)

This genus formerly included many more species. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the large genus was polyphyletic.^[8] In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, species were moved to Leucolia, Saucerottia, Amazilis, Uranomitra, Chrysuronia, Polyerata, Chionomesa, Elliotomyia and Chlorestes.^{[7] [9]}

Notes and References

1. Lesson . René . René Lesson . 1843 . Ornithologie: Complément à l'histoire naturelle des oiseaux-mouches . French . L'Echo du Monde Savant . Part 2 . 32 . Col. 755–758 (757) .
2. Book: Lesson . René P. . René Lesson . Garnot . Prosper . Prosper Garnot . 1827 . Voyage autour du monde : exécuté par ordre du roi, sur la corvette de Sa Majesté, la Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824, et 1825 . 1, Livre 4 . French . Plate 31, Fig 3 . For the date of publication see: Book: Dickinson . E.C. . Edward C. Dickinson . Overstreet . L.K. . Dowsett . R.J. . Bruce . M.D. . 2011 . Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers . Northampton, UK . Aves Press . 978-0-9568611-1-5 . 122–123 .
3. Book: Lesson, René P. . 1828 . René Lesson . Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux . 2 . French . Paris . Roret . 81 .
4. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 43 .
5. Stone . Witmer . Witmer Stone . 1918 . Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia . 70 . 239–280 [256] .
6. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1945 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 5 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 61 .
7. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . August 2022 . Hummingbirds . IOC World Bird List Version 12.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 11 September 2022 .
8. McGuire . J. . Witt . C. . Remsen . J.V. . Corl . A. . Rabosky . D. . Altshuler . D. . Dudley . R. . 2014 . Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds . Current Biology . 24 . 8 . 910–916 . 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016 . 24704078 . free . 2014CBio...24..910M .
9. Stiles . F.G. . Remsen . J.V. Jr. . Mcguire . J.A. . 2017 . The generic classification of the Trochilini (Aves: Trochilidae): Reconciling taxonomy with phylogeny . Zootaxa . 4353 . 3 . 401–424 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4353.3.1 . 29245495 .