White-bellied emerald
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Chlorestes candida

The white-bellied emerald (Chlorestes candida ) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Appearance

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.

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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.

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Distribution

Geography

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.

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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).

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Habits and Lifestyle

The white-bellied emerald is resident in most of its range. Local populations make some seasonal movements.

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

The white-bellied emerald often feeds low to the ground but regularly forages at all levels up into the canopy. Its principal diet is nectar taken from a wide variety of flowering plants, and it also seeks insect prey in foliage. It is dominated by the larger rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacati ). However, in 2019 a pair of researchers documented a female white-bellied emerald feeding a juvenile rufous-tailed hummingbird.

Mating Habits

The male white-bellied emerald sings in leks and so is believed to be polygynous. The species' breeding season spans from February to May. Females build a cup nest on a horizontal branch, using plant material and cobweb decorated on the outside with lichen and moss. The clutch size is two eggs.

Population

Population number

The IUCN has assessed the white-bellied emerals as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing due to habitat destruction.

References

1. White-bellied emerald Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_emerald
2. White-bellied emerald on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22687513/93156040

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