Blue-tailed Emerald
[order] Apodiformes | [family] Trochilidae | [latin] Chlorostilbon mellisugus | [UK] Blue-tailed Emerald | [FR] emeraude orvert | [DE] Smaragdkolibri | [ES] Esmeralda de Cola Azul | [IT] Colibri smeraldo codablu | [NL] Blauwstaart-smaragdkolibrie
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | SA | n, ne | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | caribaeus | ne Venezuela, Trinidad, Netherlands Antilles | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | duidae | Mt. Duida (s Venezuela) | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | mellisugus | Suriname, French Guiana and ne Brazil | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | peruanus | Peru, e Bolivia | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | phoeopygus | Upper Amazonia | ||
| Chlorostilbon | mellisugus | subfurcatus | s Venezuela, Guyana, and Rio Branco region (nw Brazil) |
Physical charateristics
The Blue-tailed Emerald is 7.4 cm long and weighs 2.6 g. The black bill is short and straight. The male has mainly brilliant green plumage, with white thighs and a forked metallic blue tail. The female differs from the male in that she has grey-white underparts, a blackish ear patch, a short white supercilium and white-tipped outer tail feathers.
Listen to the sound of Blue-tailed Emerald
[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/B/Blue-tailed Emerald.mp3]
Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto
| wingspan min.: | 0 | cm | wingspan max.: | 0 | cm |
| size min.: | 8 | cm | size max.: | 9 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 13 | days | incubation max.: | 14 | days |
| fledging min.: | 20 | days | fledging max.: | 21 | days |
| broods: | 0 | eggs min.: | 1 | ||
| eggs max.: | 3 |
Range
The Blue-tailed Emerald is a hummingbird that breeds from Colombia south and east to the Guianas, Trinidad Bolivia and Brazil.
Habitat
It is a bird of savanna, scrub, cultivation and similar semi-open woodland.
Reproduction
The female lays her eggs in a small cup nest, similar to that of the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, placed on a horizontal tree branch. Incubation is 13 days with a further 20 days to fledging.
Feeding habits
Nectar feeder and also honeydew. Also invertebrates hunted by hwaking. Trap liner.
Conservation
This species has a large range, extending from central Mexico south to Peru, and also into the Guianas. It has an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 5,830,000 km2. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is presumed to be large given its wide range. Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Migration
Sedentary throughout range
Distribution map
Literature
Title Blue-tailed emerald Hummingbird (Chlorostilbon mellisugus) nesting and nestling development
Author(s): Betsy Trent Thomas
Abstract: A nest of the Blue-tailed Emerald Hummingbird (Chl..[more]..
Source: ORNlTOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 5: 57-60
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