Coppery Emerald
Chlorostilbon russatus
Small, compact, short-billed and short-tailed hummingbird with reddish tail. Male all glittering coppery green; female coppery green above and gray below with dark cheek and white eyeline. Occurs in shrubby and second growth forest borders in montane regions. Often perched alone near small flowers at mid-height. No similar species in its very limited range in extreme western Venezuela (Sierra de Perijá) and northeastern Colombia.
Identification
The male coppery emerald is 8 to 8.5 cm (3.1 to 3.3 in) long and females 7 to 7.5 cm (2.8 to 3.0 in). The species weighs between 3.2 and 3.6 g (0.11 and 0.13 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. The male's forehead, crown, and upperparts are shining golden green. Its uppertail coverts are coppery green, and its slightly forked tail is golden coppery. Its underparts are glittering golden green. The female's forehead, crown, upperparts, flanks, and uppertail coverts are coppery green and its underparts are smoky gray. Its tail is also slightly forked; its feathers are greenish coppery and the outer four pairs of feathers have a coppery purple band near the end and pale tips. Immature coppery emeralds are similar to adult females with buffy fringes on the feathers of the head.
Taxonomy
The coppery emerald is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Chlorostilbon russatus
- Authority
- (Salvin & Godman, 1881)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Chlorostilbon
Range and habitat
The coppery emerald is found in Colombia's lower Magdalena River valley and Santa Marta department (including the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) and also Serranía del Perijá that straddles the northern Colombia/western Venezuela border. It inhabits semi-open and open landscapes such as scrublands, forest edges, and cultivated areas. The coppery emerald’s elevation (flight height) ranges from sea-level to 2,600 m (8,500 ft). It is usually between 500 and 1,700 m (1,600 and 5,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The coppery emerald is generally sedentary. It may vary its height (elevation) to adapt to the season.<p>The coppery emerald forages for nectar by trap-lining, visiting a circuit of a variety of flowering plants, especially Leguminaceae, Rubiaceae, Heliconiaceae, and Gesneriaceae. It generally forages between 4 and 12 m (13 and 39 ft) above the ground. It captures small insects by hawking from a perch and sometimes by gleaning from vegetation.<p>The coppery emerald breeds in May and June. It makes a cup nest lined with downy plant material, typically on a sloping branch about 0.8 m (3 ft) above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 15 to 16 days and fledging occurs about 20 days after hatch.<p>The coppery emerald makes "a repeated short 'tsik' or 'trk'" while feeding.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Guianan Trogon
Trogon violaceus
Medium-sized, long-tailed, sluggish bird that occurs in a variety of humid forest types. Males are iridescent blue with a yellow belly; females are mostly grayish where males are blue. Yellow eyering visible at close range; note finely barred outer tail feathers. Sits still and makes abrupt short flights to forage on large insect prey; also eats fruit. Song is a quick series of barking notes. Similar to Green-backed Trogon, but slightly smaller with a complete eyering, different tail pattern, and faster song.
Adelaide's Warbler
Setophaga adelaidae
A small, brightly colored inhabitant of thickets in woodlands and scrub. Feeds actively, snatching insects from leaves and twigs. It is passingly similar to the Northern Parula, but the parula has yellow-green on its back and the yellow below does not extend onto the belly as it does on Adelaide’s. Its song is series of rapidly given sweet notes that accelerate as the song progresses before sometimes slowing again towards the end. Call is a sweet “chick” with a slight squeaky quality.
Indigo-winged Parrot
Hapalopsittaca fuertesi
Rare and endangered parrot restricted to high elevations in the central Andes of Colombia. Plumage is golden green with a sapphire crown; the blue and red in the wings and tail are usually evident when perched, and can be more striking when seen in flight. Usually encountered in groups of several to a dozen birds that fly from fruiting tree to fruiting tree in compact flocks. Formerly very difficult to find, but in recent years it has been reliably encountered along dirt roads high above the town of Santa Rosa de Cabal.
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