Blue-tailed Emerald - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies caribaeus
Photo © by OhioMoose
Near Santa Marta Bay, Curaçao Netherlands Antilles, November 2007

Chlorostilbon mellisugus

Identification

Female, subspecies caribaeus
Photo © by OhioMoose
Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, November 2007

Male 7·5–9·5 cm (3-3¾ in); Female 6·5–7·5 cm (2½-3 in)
Male

• Bright green
• White thighs
• Dark metallic blue tail
• Short, straight black bill
  

Female

• Greyish-white underparts
• Blackish ear patch
• Short white supercilium/post-ocular streak
• White-tipped outer tail feathers.

Distribution

Venezuela, Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Trinidad, Margarita Island, Guyana, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru. Generally on the eastern side of the Andes and in the Amazonian Basin of the South American countries.

Taxonomy

Subspecies peruanus
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Villa Carmen Lodge, Pillcopata, Cusco Department, Peru, September 2018

There has been considerable reclassification of the Emerald Hummingbirds in recent years. Opus follows the taxonomic classification of Clements, which separates this species from the Western Emerald and Garden Emerald, with which it has been considered conspecific by some authorities in the past.

Subspecies

Subspecies caribaeusPhoto © by Robert_Scanlon
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, February 2007

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• C. m. caribaeus:

• North-eastern Venezuela, Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Trinidad, Margarita Island

• C. m. duidae:

• Tepuis of southern Venezuela (Mount Duida)

• C. m. subfurcatus:

• Southern Venezuela to Guyana and north-western Brazil (Rio Branco region)

• C. m. mellisugus:

• Suriname, French Guiana and lower Amazonian Brazil

• C. m. phoeopygus:

• Upper Amazon and tributaries from Colombia to Bolivia

• C. m. peruanus:

• Eastern Peru and eastern Bolivia

Habitat

Rain, gallery and deciduous forest, second growth, llanos, xerophytic areas, open fields with scattered trees; scrubby desert and gardens. Observed at heights between 528 and 2100m.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of nectar and insects.

Breeding

They construct a small cup nest. The eggs are incubated for 13 days with the young fledging 18 days later.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. BF Member observations
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2018)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-tailed Emerald. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-tailed_Emerald

External Links

Search for photos of Blue-tailed Emerald in the gallery