| Garden emerald | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Resting on a blue porterweed | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Chlorostilbon |
| Species: | C. assimilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Chlorostilbon assimilis Lawrence, 1861 | |
The garden emerald (Chlorostilbon assimilis) is a small hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. [3] [4]
The garden emerald was at one time considered a subspecies of the blue-tailed emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus). [5] As its own species, it is monotypic. [3]
The garden emerald is 7.8 to 8.5 cm (3.1 to 3.3 in) long and weighs about 3 to 4.1 g (0.11 to 0.14 oz). The adult male has dark metallic green upperparts with bluish green uppertail coverts. Its forked tail is blue-black and the central feathers have a light bluish green gloss. Its underparts are a brighter metallic green than the upperparts, sometimes with a light blue sheen, and it has white thigh tufts. The adult female has bright metallic green to bronze green upperparts with bluish green uppertail coverts. Its tail is blue-black, with dull metallic green central feathers and pale gray tips on the outer ones. It has dusky cheeks, a white or grayish white spot behind the eye, and pale gray underparts. Juvenile males are like the adult female but darker gray below. [5]
The garden emerald is found in southwestern Costa Rica, the Pacific coast of Panama, and the offshore Coiba and Pearl islands. It inhabits open landscapes like the edges of woodlands, hedgerows, streamside thickets, scrublands, and gardens. It is a bird of the lowlands, reaching from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Costa Rica and 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Panama. [5]
The garden emerald is generally sedentary. However, there are reports of its moving back and forth between mainland Panama, the Pearl Islands, and other small islands. [5]
The garden emerald forages for nectar by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of flowering trees, shrubs, and other plants. It also feeds on small insects that it gleans from vegetation. [5]
The garden emerald's breeding season has not been fully determined but in Panama appears to span at least from November to March. Its nest, incubation length, time to fledging, and other details of its breeding phenology have not been documented. They are assumed to be similar to those of other Chlorostilbon hummingbirds. [5]
The garden emerald's vocalizations are not well known but appear to be similar to those of Canivet's emerald (Cynanthus canivetii). [5] That species' song is believed to be "an endlessly repeated, characterless wiry tseee tseeree" and its call has been described as "a dry, scratchy chut or chit, sometimes run together into a soft, staccato chatter". [6]
The IUCN has assessed the garden emerald as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and its estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It "[r]eadily accepts man-made habitat" and may even have expanded its range as forest has been cleared. [5]
The violet sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Panama.
The Puerto Rican emerald, or zumbadorcito de Puerto Rico in Spanish, is species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico.
The snowcap is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The coppery-headed emerald is a small hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Costa Rica.
The purple-throated mountaingem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The fiery-throated hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems" tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The bronze-tailed plumeleteer is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The blue-tailed hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The golden-crowned emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to western Mexico.
Canivet's emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The Cozumel emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to the Mexican island of Cozumel off the Yucatán Peninsula.
The western emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The Chiribiquete emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to southern Colombia.
The short-tailed emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. It has also been called Poortman's emerald hummingbird.
The coppery emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The narrow-tailed emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The white-tailed emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The stripe-tailed hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from southeastern Mexico to Panama.
The black-bellied hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The Talamanca hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
