Green-bellied Hummingbird
Saucerottia viridigaster
Plain and often confusing hummingbird found along lower to middle slopes of the Andes. Note its limited range in the eastern Andes of Colombia and the Andes of Venezuela. Plumage is mostly green with rusty-brown rump and tail. Its name is deceptive as the belly is typically brown or buff, not green. Similar to Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, but bill is darker and less red, and rump and tail are browner and less rufous. Inhabits forest edge, clearings, and plantations. Birds found in the Tepui region are now considered a separate species, Copper-tailed Hummingbird.
Identification
The green-bellied hummingbird is 8 to 10.5 cm (3.1 to 4.1 in) long and weighs 4.5 to 6.7 g (0.16 to 0.24 oz). Both sexes of both subspecies have a straight, medium length, blackish bill with a pink to reddish base to the mandible. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dull golden-green head and back and olive green to brownish rump and uppertail coverts; the last sometimes have a purplish tinge. Their wings are dark purple brown and their tail deep blue to violet blue. Their underparts are a dark shining green becoming grayish brown at the vent. Their undertail coverts are grayish buff with paler edges. Adult females are similar to males with the addition of white fringes on the throat feathers and bronze or brownish edges to the tail feathers. Juveniles resemble females but have grayish brown or brownish gray underparts. Subspecies S. v. iodura has a coppery to purple tail and is otherwise like the nominate.
Taxonomy
The green-bellied hummingbird was formerly placed in the genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Amazilia was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the green-bellied hummingbird was moved by most taxonomic systems to the resurrected genus Saucerottia.<p>The green-bellied hummingbird previously was assigned six subspecies. By early 2023 most taxonomic systems had created the copper-tailed hummingbird (S. cupreicauda) containing four of them. They retain the other two subspecies in the green-bellied, the nominate S. v. viridigaster (Bourcier, 1843) and S. v. iodura (Reichenbach, 1854). However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society does not recognize the copper-tailed hummingbird as a separate species.
- Scientific name
- Saucerottia viridigaster
- Authority
- (Bourcier, 1843)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Saucerottia
Range and habitat
Subspecies S. v. viridigaster of the green-bellied hummingbird is found in north-central Colombia on the east slope of the Eastern Andes. S. v. iodura is found in the Andes of western Venezuela. The species inhabits a variety of semi-open to open subtropical landscapes including the edges of gallery forest, plantations, scrub- and brushlands, river islands, and low secondary forest. It mostly occurs on the lower to middle slopes of the Andes at elevations between 400 and 1,700 m (1,300 and 5,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The green-bellied hummingbird is basically sedentary but makes local movements to follow the availability of nectar sources.<p>The green-bellied hummingbird's foraging strategy and details of its diet are not well documented. It is known to take nectar from the flowers of Quararibea, Inga, and Erythrina and has been photographed feeding at many other plants. It has been observed in large groups at flowering trees. In addition to necatar it feeds on small arthropods.<p>The green-bellied hummingbird's breeding season appears to span at least from October to January. The one known nest was a cup made of buffy seed down with bits of lichen on the outside and sited on a horizontal tree branch. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology. <p>The green-bellied hummingbird's song has been variously described as " a short dainty phrase which is repeated several times...tee-tee-dji-dji or tee-dji-tee-dji" and also as "a waif-like ta-da titi-da". Calls include a "short high-pitched buzzy note...tzree..tzree..tzree..." and a "fast stuttered descending series...TSEe-tsee-tsi-tsi-ti-ti".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Slender-tailed Woodstar
Microstilbon burmeisteri
Small, long-tailed hummingbird of NW Argentina and the Bolivian Andes. Prefers humid and semi-humid middle elevation forests, but generally rare and difficult to find throughout its distribution. Told from White-bellied Woodstar by Slender-tailed’s longer tail, accentuated sides to gorget, and, on females, largely orangey underparts.
Purple Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes caeruleus
Very small tanager, widespread and common in lowlands and foothills of northern South America. Male is indigo-blue with narrow black mask, black throat, and black wings. Note long decurved bill and yellow legs to separate from other honeycreepers in most of range. Female much different: she is mostly green with pale streaking on underparts, a grizzled buffy-brown face, and a blue mustache stripe. Extremely similar to Shining Honeycreeper, but very little range overlap. Male Shining has larger black throat patch and slightly shorter bill; female has duller, grayer crown and less buffy face. Usually in small groups, often accompanying a mixed-species flock in the canopy. Found in forests, edges, and gardens.
Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner
Neophilydor erythrocercum
A medium-sized bird, brownish above and pale buff below, with a bright rufous rump and tail and a distinctive buffy line behind the eye. Found in tall rainforest, where it occurs mainly in the midstory and canopy, but occasionally in the understory. Will follow mixed species flocks at all levels. Feeds on insects and forages actively, often investigating dead leaf clusters and other accumulations of detritus. Song is a short, weak series of squeaking notes that fades away; call is a hard doubled note. Most similar to Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner but somewhat larger and more likely to occur at lower levels in the forest; both tail and rump are rufous in Rufous-rumped.
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