White-bellied Emerald
Chlorestes candida
Small and rather plain hummingbird of tropical lowland forest and edge. Feeds low to high, often at edges and out in clearings. Both sexes look ‘female-plumaged,’ with green upperparts, white underparts; reddish color on base of bill can be difficult to see. Tail drab greenish with faint dusky band near tip. Lacks bold white tail corners of other small hummingbirds, such as female Ruby-throated.
Identification
The nominate subspecies of white-bellied emerald is 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) long and weighs 2.9 to 4.3 g (0.10 to 0.15 oz). Adults' upperparts are metallic bronze to bronzy green, with the back usually greener than the crown and neck. The underparts are white with metallic bronzy green from the cheeks to the flanks. The tail is metallic bronze; all but the central pair of feathers have a broad purplish bronze or blackish band near the end, and the outermost two pairs also have dull brownish gray tips. Immatures are similar to adults but the feathers of the crown, rump, and uppertail coverts have brownish tips.<p>C. c. genini differs from the nominate only in having a longer and broader bill. The bill of C. c. pacifica is also heavier and stouter than that of the nominate, and the green of its back extends further onto the sides and flanks.
Taxonomy
The white-bellied emerald was originally placed in genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Amazilia was polyphyletic. In 2020 the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) moved it and four other hummingbirds into genus Chlorestes. In 2021 the Clements taxonomy followed suit. However, the 2020 Version 5 of BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it in Amazilia.<p>The white-bellied emerald has three recognized subspecies, the nominate C. c. candida, C. c. genini, and C. c. pacifica.
- Scientific name
- Chlorestes candida
- Authority
- (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Chlorestes
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of white-bellied emerald is found on the Caribbean slope from the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and Yucatán south through Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras into Nicaragua. C. c. genini is found in southeastern Mexico north of the nominate between San Luis Potosi and northern Oaxaca. C. c. pacifica is found in extreme southern Chiapas on the Pacific slope of Mexico and disjuctly in Guatemala. Specimens were collected in Costa Rica in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but there are no recent records there.<p>The white-bellied emerald inhabits the interior and edges of lowland evergreen and semi-deciduous forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small, striking eagle with broad, rounded wings. Broad white wing bands and base to tail prominent in flight. At rest, note dark head and chestnut underparts. Darker overall than similar Crested Serpent-Eagle and appears longer-winged in flight. Adult Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle can be similar in flight, but appears smaller-headed, with more intricately-marked underwings. Restricted to north Bornean montane forest, where it can often be seen soaring above ridges. Gives a short, shrill scream.
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Bornean Leafbird
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Accurately-named leaf-green canopy-dweller of Borneo’s central montane forests. Male has a black throat with a blue center and lemon-yellow outline. Female similar, but throat is all-dark, with no blue or yellow on the head. Both sexes have sky-blue flight feathers. Very similar to male Blue-winged Leafbird (the female of which lacks a black throat); look for Bornean’s green crown, yellow bib, paler blue wings, and more yellow-washed underparts. Gives a high thin “tseep” and a whistled “wee-chup!”, among other calls.
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