Esmeralda Occidental
Western Emerald
Chlorostilbon (mellisugus) melanorhynchus
Song
Western Emerald
Appearance: The Western Emerald is a small hummingbird, about 7 cm long, with a short, straight black bill. The male is mostly glittering green, often with a brighter or golden-green crown and a dark bluish forked tail. The female is green above and grayish to whitish below, with a paler throat and belly; females can be difficult to separate from related emeralds, so range is very important for identification.
Habitat: It uses open and semi-open habitats, especially forest edges, clearings, mature forest borders, gardens, cultivated areas, plantations, shrubby areas with trees, and degraded former forest. It is often associated with subtropical or lower montane habitats rather than deep closed forest.
Behavior: The Western Emerald feeds mainly on nectar, usually at fairly low levels in vegetation, and it may visit garden flowers and feeders. Like other small hummingbirds, it probably also takes tiny insects and spiders. It is generally considered sedentary, although it may make small seasonal elevational movements.
Breeding: The breeding season appears to be mainly from January to June. The female builds a tiny cup-shaped nest of plant fibers, moss or soft material, and spiderweb, often camouflaged with outer material. She lays two white eggs and incubates them alone, as is typical of hummingbirds.
Conservation Status: The Western Emerald is a little complicated taxonomically. Some authorities treat it as a separate species, while others have treated it as part of the Blue-tailed Emerald complex.
MALE
FEMALE
Distribution
The Western Emerald is a western Andean and Pacific-slope species. It occurs mainly on the western side of the Andes, especially in the Cordillera Occidental, Pacific-slope habitats, and parts of southwestern Colombia such as Nariño. The Chlorostilbon (mellisugus) melanorhynchus is present in the Andes of southwestern Colombia in the Nariño Department.
Taxonomy
The Western Emerald (Chlorostilbon (mellisugus) melanorhynchus)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Caprimulgiformes
- Family: Trochilidae
- Genus: Chlorostilbon
- Species: mellisugus
- Subspecies: melanorhynchus
Vocalization
Contact Call: The contact call is a soft, high, short note, often described as “tsip,” “pit,” or “chwep.” It may be given while the bird moves between perches, visits flowers, or travels through forest edge, gardens, and shrubby habitats.
Feeding Call: The feeding call is likely a light, sharp chip similar to “tsip” or “pit.” It may be heard when the bird is visiting flowers or feeders, especially in semi-open vegetation. These calls are brief and thin, not musical, and can be easy to miss.
Territorial Call: Around nectar sources, the Western Emerald may give sharper repeated chips when another hummingbird approaches. These calls are probably variations of the same “tsip” or “chwep” notes, but delivered more quickly and forcefully during flower defense.
Aggressive Call: During chases, the call may become a rapid series of dry, squeaky chips, such as “tsip-tsip-tsip.” These notes are used during close interactions when one bird pushes another away from flowers or a favored perch.
Advertisement Call: The song is described as a continuous series of subdued, scratchy and wheezy notes, sometimes beginning with introductory notes. It may sound like “witsitsitsi… chirr… chirr… chirr…” or “tsit-trr, tsit-trr, tsit-trr.” This is more complex than the simple contact calls but still thin and scratchy rather than melodic.
