Versicolored Emerald Chrysuronia versicolor Scientific name definitions

The Versicolored Emerald is a small species of Amazilia hummingbird. It is discontinuously distributed in open habitats of eastern South America, from Colombia east to the Guianas and south to northeastern Argentina and southern Brazil. This is a medium-sized hummingbird with green upperparts and white underparts; the mostly pink mandible helps to distinguish it from the very similar White-chested Emerald (Amazilia chionopectus). There are six subspecies of Versicolored Emerald, which vary in features such as the color of the crown (glittering green or turquoise) and throat (white, or variably green or turquoise). One poorly-known subspecies, rondoniae of southwestern Brazil (and northern Bolivia?), sometimes is recognized as a separate species, but geographic variation within Versicolored Emerald merits further study. Across its broad range, the Versicolored Emerald behaves as a typical Amazilia: it occurs at the edges of forest, in open shrubby areas, and in savannas with scattered trees or shrubs. Versicolored Emeralds feed at a wide variety of flowers; they may defend small patches of flowers, but also visit flowering trees, which attract many hummingbirds of a variety of species.

8–10 cm; male 3–4 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), female 3·2–3·5 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), male hollandi 3 g, female hollandi 3 g (2 Lentino, M., L. Pérez, G. Barrowclough, and P. Sweet (1998). Notas sobre las aves de la cima del Auyantepuy, Parque Nacional Canaima, estado Bolívar, Venezuela. Acta Terramaris 11:1–12. Close ). Male has bill straight, medium-sized (1·8 cm), maxilla blackish, mandible  reddish except dark tip; crown and cheeks dull bronze-green; upperparts shining golden-green to bronze-green; chin and throat variable, pure white in coastal subpopulation, more spotted glittering green to entirely green in western subpopulation; centre of underparts white; sides of chest, flanks and undertail-coverts bronze-green, the latter fringed white; tail  bronze-green, dark subterminal band on outer rectrices. Female has grey feather tips on outer rectrices. Juvenile has rufous borders to crown, lower back and rump feathers; belly brownish. Race <em>millerii</em> has shorter bill (14 mm versus 18 mm in nominate) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), crown glittering turquoise, centre of throat entirely white; <em>hollandi</em> has bluish crown and cheeks and white throat; nitidifrons has (bill 16 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ) turquoise to golden-green glittering crown, cheeks and throat spots; rondoniae  has crown, cheeks and chin azure blue, upperparts and flanks shining bronze-green, centre of underparts white, and tail is bronze-green with dark subterminal bars on outer rectrices, while female  has more extensive turquoise-green on neck-sides; <em>kubtchecki</em> has significantly shorter bill, throat entirely glittering emerald-green with turquoise reflections; females of races rondoniae, kubtchecki and nitidifrons show conspicuous white subterminal bars on chin feathers.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Sometimes placed in genus Agyrtria. Race rondoniae considered a distinct species in HBW on basis of reported sympatry without interbreeding, but fuller evidence needed. Taxonomic confusion has been caused by occurrence of polymorphism within S parts of range: birds from SE Brazil sometimes divided into two distinct races or even species, a green-throated inland one and a white-throated coastal one, but differences attributable to clinal variation within nominate race, and intermediates exist; coastal birds were listed as brevirostris, but this name is now considered to refer to the species formerly known as A. chionopectus (now A. brevirostris). Distinctive race hollandi sometimes considered a separate species, and millerii and nitidifrons have been suggested as constituting two further species. Validity of race kubtchecki has often been questioned, but it appears separable on basis of morphology; emendation to “kubitscheki” (or others) is unjustified, as dedicatee’s name similarly misspelt in original (3 Bahr, N. (2014). pers. comm. Close ). Race viridiceps of Uranomitra franciae sometimes placed in present species, but bill-size disparity incompatible with this arrangement. Six subspecies recognized.

Precise limits of distribution in Amazonia and NE Brazil very poorly known.

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EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Versicolored Emerald (Versicolored) Chrysuronia versicolor [versicolor Group]

Available illustrations of subspecies in this group

• eBird map
• 553 photos
• 22 recordings

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SUBSPECIES

Chrysuronia versicolor millerii Scientific name definitions

Distribution

tropical Colombia E of Andes, C and S Venezuela and NW Brazil. Old record from Peru (4 Weller, A.A. (2002). First confirmed record of Agyrtria versicolor (Trochilidae) for Peru. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 122(4): 314–317. Close ).

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SUBSPECIES

Chrysuronia versicolor hollandi Scientific name definitions

Distribution

SE Venezuela and W Guyana.

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SUBSPECIES

Chrysuronia versicolor nitidifrons Scientific name definitions

Distribution

NE Brazil (NE Pará to Ceará and Piauí).

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SUBSPECIES

Chrysuronia versicolor versicolor Scientific name definitions

Distribution

SE Brazil (S from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, sparingly N to Alagoas).

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SUBSPECIES

Chrysuronia versicolor kubtchecki Scientific name definitions

Distribution

NE Bolivia, E Paraguay, extreme NE Argentina (Misiones and Corrientes) (5 Chebez, J.C., Castillo, R., Güller, R. and Castillo, L. (2008). Sobre la situación taxonómica de Amazilia brevirostris (Lesson, 1829) y su presencia en la Argentina. Las Ciencias Revista de la Universidad de Maimonides. 1: 67–81. Close ) and SW Brazil (E to Goiandaacute;s).

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EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Versicolored Emerald (Rondonia) Chrysuronia versicolor rondoniae Scientific name definitions

• eBird map
• 5 photos
• 0 recordings

Distribution

Known only from right bank of R Madeira in WC Brazil (Rondônia) and N Bolivia.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

In N of range, chiefly found at edges of cloud and rainforest and in gallery forest; ranges altitudinally from 50 m in the Amazon basin to 1250 m in the lower sub-montane zone of the eastern slope of E Andes; rarely above 1000 m in the Pantepui region of NE South America, with upper limit at 1700 m. In E & S Brazil, prefers more open habitats with scrub, caatinga, or campo cerrado; also found in suburban areas such as parks and gardens; mostly below 900 m. Poorly known race rondoniae occurs in forests, cerrado, park-type landscapes along R Madeira at altitude of c. 100 m.

Generally sedentary, with some local movements, e.g. around Puerto Ayacucho, S Venezuela, the species is scarce in Dec–Jan, but common in the wet season (Jun–Jul) (6 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Nectar and arthropods; feeds and perches at all levels. Has been observed to visit a great variety of plant families; prefers flowers with short or no corolla tubes, in particular Loganiaceae (Buddleja), Asteraceae (Piptocarpa), Bromeliaceae (Tillandsia, Vriesea), Amaryllidaceae (Alstroemeria), Zingiberaceae (Inga) and Marcgraviaceae (Schwartzia brasiliensis) (7 Rocca, M.A. and Sazima, M. (2008). Ornithophilous canopy species in the Atlantic rain forest of southeastern Brazil. J. Field Orn. 79(2): 130–137. Close ); also many species of Ranunculaceae, Passifloraceae, Bombaceae, Vochysiaceae, Verbenaceae, Labiataceae and Cactaceae, as well as Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) (8 Antunes, A.Z. (2003). Partilha de néctar de Eucalyptus spp., territorialidade e hierarquia de dominância em beija-flores (Aves: Trochilidae) no sudeste do Brasil. Ararajuba. 11(1): 39–44. Close ). Several individuals may gather in canopy of large flowering trees. In orchards or suburban areas, common at flowering bushes or trees of Heliconia, Eucalyptus or Citrus. Small arthropods are taken from leaves or caught in the air by hawking.

Presumed song is a long series of the same single note, which is quite variable, “pseee” or “tsew” or “tsidit”, at a rate of c. 1·5–2 notes/second. Calls include a short “trr”.

Almost year-round; in E Brazil, Oct–Mar; nothing known concerning race rondoniae. Nest cup-shaped, built of plant down and seeds of, among others, Asclepias, Chorisia, Bromeliaceae, Typha, or Graminae that are attached with cobweb; outer walls decorated with pieces of grey-red lichens; placed on a horizontal branch, usually 1–6 m above ground, occasionally up to 10 m; nest height 33 mm, external diameter 43 mm, internal diameter 14 mm (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Clutch size two eggs, size 14 mm × 9 mm, mass 0·43 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); incubation  14 days, by female; fledging at 20–26 days, occasionally up to 32 days.

Not globally threatened. CITES II. The southern races versicolor and kubtchecki are more common and widespread than northern representatives, except millerii, although the nominate race is scarce at southernmost extremity of its range, e.g. in Santa Catarina (S Brazil) (9 Favretto, M.A. and Guester, C.J. (2008). Observações ornitológicas no oeste de Santa Catarina, Brasil parte II. Atualidades Ornitológicas. 144: 36. Close ). In Venezuela, millerii occurs almost exclusively S & E of the Orinoco, with only one record to the N in lower Orinoco basin (S Monagas), while there is just one record of this race in NE Peru, a long-overlooked specimen from Iquitos collected in Aug 1885 (4 Weller, A.A. (2002). First confirmed record of Agyrtria versicolor (Trochilidae) for Peru. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 122(4): 314–317. Close ). Race hollandi has only recently been discovered in SW Guyana (initially in Mar 1999, subsequently at additional localities) (10 Robbins, M. B., M. J. Braun, and D. W. Finch (2004). Avifauna of the Guyana southern Rupununi, with comparisons to other savannas of northern South America. Ornitología Neotropical 15(2):173–200. Close ). Generally, distribution poorly understood as nearly all races show either unclear range limits or highly scattered distribution; as an example of the latter, race hollandi may be confined to a few valleys and tepuis of the SE Venezuelan highlands. Current status and distribution of rondoniae needs to be studied as population size and extent of range are unclear; its ecological requirements are insufficiently known and it is perhaps threatened by deforestation, especially the Brazilian population.