Glaucis hirsutus (Gmelin, 1788)

Smith, Paul, Cibois, Alice & Straube, Fernando, 2014, On the Paraguayan specimens of Nothura darwinii (Aves: Tinamidae) and Glaucis hirsutus (Aves: Trochilidae) in the collection of the Natural History Museum of Geneva (Switzerland), with a review of South Brazilian reports of the latter, Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (1), pp. 3-9 : 6-8

Glaucis hirsutus Rufous-breasted Hermit

Fig. 3

Specimen MHNG 1723.041 is a female Glaucis hirsutus which exhibits an unusually strong coppery colouration dorsally ( Fig. 3 ). According to the specimen label it was “collected in Paraguay some time between 1983 and 1989” [with no indication of collector]. It does not have a field number and it was not included in the field reports available in the archives of the Museum. Unable to trace the specimen, Clay & del Castillo (2004) list the species without comment in a list of “Possible Hypothetical” species. There are no other records for Paraguay and the species has never been reported from Argentina ( Chebez, 1996; Mazar Barnett & Pearman, 2001).

Glaucis hirsutus is widely distributed in tropical cis-Andean regions of the Neotropics from Panama to west-central (Mato Grosso) and south-east ( São Paulo ) Brazil ( Grantsau, 1988). Although Meyer de Schauensee (1982) listed the distribution as “ BRAZIL south to Rio Grande do Sul ” [perhaps on the basis of Ruschi (1979) which is cited in the bibliography] there are apparently no unambiguously documented records of the species anywhere in southern Brazil. The following summarises what has been published about the species in this region.

Mato Grosso do Sul: It was not reported during a series of inventories in southwestern Mato Grosso do Sul immediately adjacent to the Paraguayan border ( Straube et al., 2006a, b; Pivatto et al., 2006) and although it is mapped for the extreme north of the state in the major field guide to the region ( Gwynne et al., 2010), there are no documented records for the entire state (Nunes et al., submitted).

Paraná: Scherer-Neto et al. (2011) list the species as undocumented in ParanÁ on the basis of its inclusion in an unpublished thesis by Bornschein (2001).

Santa Catarina: RosÁrio (1996) maps the species only for coastal northeastern Santa Catarina based on a single sight record at “Reserva Florestal Hoffmann, Brusque Municipality” on 28 May 1979. In fact the only alleged specimen record for Santa Catarina state is MBML-573, supposedly collected by A. Ruschi at Joinville on 18 November 1960. However if the collection data is to be believed the same collector apparently collected several other species of hummingbirds at Joinville on the same date, as well as another specimen of G. hirsutus several thousands of kilometers away at “Usina Rio Branco”, Sergipe State. Consequently the locality is suspect and the species is not considered documented in the state ( Vielliard, 1994).

Rio Grande do Sul: Bencke (2001) cites a Ruschi specimen in the Museu de Biologia Prof. Mello Leitão (MBML 572) supposedly collected on 31 October 1946 at “Fazenda Retiro, Nazareth, Porto Alegre”, but notes several problems with the data. All other specimens of hummingbirds from Rio Grande do Sul in the museum collection were collected by Ruschi during his visit to the state in late August and early September 1956. Although Ruschi (1951) claims to “update the distribution of various species of hummingbird not previously recorded in certain Brazilian states”, he omits mention of this species in the southern Brazilian states, including Rio Grande do Sul. Later however Ruschi (1965) does include the species in the state avifauna along with six other species of hummingbird for which there is apparently no documentation and for which there have been no further records. Bencke (2001) hesitantly considered the species a vagrant to the state on the basis of the MBML specimen, but given the uncertainty surrounding the provenance of the specimens and the revelation by Fontana (2005) that the locality was untraceable he later discounted it completely ( Bencke et al., 2010). Meyer de Schaunesee (1970, 1982) included the state in the range of the species, but this was rejected by Belton (1978, 1984, 1994) because of a lack of evidence.

Though correctly identified, the vagaries of the specimen label regarding both the location and date of collection of the Paraguayan specimen MHNG 1723.041 are cause for similar doubt. Given the distance from, and uncertainty surrounding records in neighbouring states in Brazil, it would seem preferable to maintain this species as hypothetical in Paraguay pending further records.

Figures

FIG 3 Glaucis hirsutus female, MHNG 1723.041.