Green-tailed emerald | |
---|---|
Chlorostilbon alice micans painted by John Gerrard Keulemans | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Order: | Apodiformes |
Family: | Trochilidae |
Genus: | Chlorostilbon |
Species: | C. alice |
Binomial name | |
Chlorostilbon alice (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1848) | |
Synonyms | |
Chlorostilbon poortmani alice [2] |
The green-tailed emerald (Chlorostilbon alice) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Venezuela. [3] [2]
The green-tailed emerald was originally described as Trochilus alice and later moved to its present genus Chlorostilbon. [4] The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy recognize it as a monotypic species. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treats it as a subspecies of the short-tailed emerald, (C. poortmani). At least one author has suggested that it is a subspecies of narrow-tailed emerald (C. stenurus). [5] [3] [6] [2]
The male green-tailed emerald is 7.5 to 8.5 cm (3.0 to 3.3 in) long and females 6.5 to 7.5 cm (2.6 to 3.0 in). The species weighs between 3 and 4 g (0.11 and 0.14 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. The male's forehead and crown are shining dark green, its upperparts bronzy green, its tail glittering bronze-green, and its underparts grass green. The female's upperparts are like the male's. It has a white line behind the eye. Its underparts are pale grayish and the undertail coverts are dark gray. Its central tail feathers are green and the rest have green bases with black near the end and grayish tips. Immature birds resemble the female with buffy fringes on the feathers of the head. [4]
The green-tailed emerald is endemic to northern Venezuela, from Falcón south to Lara and Sucre and east to Monagas. [6] It inhabits the semi-open edges of a variety of forest types including semi-humid rainforest, cloudforest, secondary forest, plantations, and sometimes dry forest. In elevation it ranges between 700 and 1,800 m (2,300 and 5,900 ft). [4]
The green-tailed emerald's movements are not well understood. It is not a long-distance migrant but makes irregular movements among locations and elevations. [4]
The green-tailed emerald uses a variety of foraging strategies to feed on nectar. It uses trap-lining at low-quality sources and "steals" nectar from richer sources in other hummingbird's territories. Males sometimes defend nectar-rich feeding territories. The species forages fairly low in the vegetation, usually between 1 and 6 m (3 and 20 ft) above the ground, and seeks nectar at a variety of flowering plants and shrubs. In addition to nectar, it also feeds on small insects captured by hawking from a perch. [4]
The green-tailed emerald's breeding season spans from January to March. It builds a cup nest of plant fibers, leaf bits, and bark lined with softer material and covered on the outside with leaf pieces and twigs. It typically places it as a saddle on a thin branch about 1 m (3 ft) above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for about 14 days and fledging occurs 20 to 22 days after hatch. [4]
The green-tailed emerald's song has apparently not been recorded or described, and there are few recordings of its call. It makes a "[t]high soft chittering while foraging". [4]
The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy, and so has not assessed the green-tailed emerald separately from the more widespread short-tailed emerald. [7] It has a restricted range and is considered locally common. It "[r]eadily accepts man-made habitats such as plantations, parks, gardens, and roadsides". [4]
The blue-tailed emerald is a hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America east of the Andes from Colombia east to the Guianas and Trinidad, and south to northern Bolivia and central Brazil.
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 violet-chested hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The Andean emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The sapphire-spangled emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is regularly found in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela; as a vagrant in Argentina; and has possibly occurred in Ecuador.
The buff-breasted sabrewing, or sometimes Duida sabrewing, is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela.
The glittering-bellied emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
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 red-billed emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The western emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
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 Cuban emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in the Bahamas and Cuba.
The Hispaniolan emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The dusky hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Mexico.
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 blue-headed sapphire or Gray's hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The spot-throated hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Peru but there are uncorroborated sightings in Ecuador.
The curve-winged sabrewing is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Mexico.