wingspan :
we're supposed to have two distinct subspecies of Altinote alcione in Ecuador Oriente :
- theophila, in the South, orange, with no subapical line, and on which the orange patch is slightly smaller than on the nominate ssp,,
- and, elsewhere in the Oriente, the nominate ssp, with a clearly visible subapical line - and which has two forms, yellow, particularly in the North, and orange.
but on the field things are different :
- most specimens that we saw have the subapical line reduced to three dots (sometimes only one),
- and, as can be seen on the map (our own records only), there seems not to be any geographic criteria, and we found typical yellow form A. alcione alcione, at the Peruvian border in Loja Province.
actually we're not convinced that there are two really distinct Altinote alcione subspecies in Ecuador Oriente.
