Versicolored Emerald

Overview

The Chrysuronia versicolor is a species of hummingbird native to central and eastern South America. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating it is widespread and generally fairly common across its range.

Identification

• Measures 8–10 cm in total length with a relatively long, slightly decurved black bill featuring a flesh-coloured or occasionally orange base on the lower mandible.
• Upperparts and flanks are coppery-green, contrasting with white central underparts and undertail coverts.
• Throat, face-sides, and crown colouration vary significantly by subspecies and morph, ranging from all greenish or turquoise to bluish, or entirely white in coastal populations.

Habitat

Found in northern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, far north-eastern Argentina, and eastern, southern and central Brazil, with a possibly disjunct population in far north-western Brazil, southern Venezuela, western Guyana and eastern Colombia. It inhabits a wide range of semi-open habitats with some trees, including urban areas, while generally avoiding the interior of humid primary forest. The species is notably absent from the arid Caatinga and most of the Amazon Basin, though it locally extends into these regions along major rivers.

Did you know?

The species' taxonomy is highly complex and disputed, with the coastal morph formerly known as C. brevirostris before being integrated into the current classification, while the blue-green emerald has fluctuated between being considered a separate species and a subspecies of the versicoloured emerald.