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, Panamá, Mexico, and Nicaragua.[4][3]
| White-bellied emerald | |
|---|---|
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| In Guatemala | |
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| In Belize | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Chlorestes |
| Species: | C. candida
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| Binomial name | |
| Chlorestes candida | |
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| Synonyms[3] | |
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Amazilia candida | |
Taxonomy and systematics edit
The white-bellied emerald was originally placed in genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Amazilia was polyphyletic.[5] In 2020 the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) moved it and four other hummingbirds into genus Chlorestes. In 2021 the Clements taxonomy followed suit. However, the 2020 Version 5 of BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it in Amazilia.[6][7][4][8][3]
The white-bellied emerald has three recognized subspecies, the nominate C. c. candida, C. c. genini, and C. c. pacifica.[4]
Description edit
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.[9]
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.[9]
Distribution and habitat edit
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.[4][9]
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).[9]
Behavior edit
Movement edit
The white-bellied emerald is resident in most of its range. Local populations make some seasonal movements.[9]
Feeding edit
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.[9][10]
Breeding edit
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.[9]
Vocalization edit
The white-bellied emerald's song is a "varied, high, thin, slightly shrill chipping, tsi'si-sit' tsi-tsin', also described as "a monotonous, high, squeaky tssi-ip tssi-ip ... or tsip tsip ... etc." Its calls are "mostly rolled or trilled chips, trirr and ti-ti or tsi-tsir, and longer drii-i-i-it and tsi si-si-si-sit, etc."[9]
Status edit
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.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "White-bellied Emerald Amazilia candida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021
- ^ a b c d Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (January 2022). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 12.1. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ McGuire, J.; Witt, C.; Remsen, J.V.; Corl, A.; Rabosky, D.; Altshuler, D.; Dudley, R. (2014). "Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds". Current Biology. 24 (8): 910–916. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016. PMID 24704078.
- ^ Stiles, F.G.; Remsen, J.V. Jr.; Mcguire, J.A. (2017). "The generic classification of the Trochilini (Aves: Trochilidae): reconciling taxonomy with phylogeny". Zootaxa. 4353 (3): 401–424. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4353.3. PMID 29245495.
- ^ "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
- ^ a b c d e f g h Arizmendi, M. d. C., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, and T. S. Schulenberg (2021). White-bellied Emerald (Chlorestes candida), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbeme1.01.1 retrieved February 14, 2022
- ^ Levy, Dallas; del Coro Arizmendi, María (2021). "A possible interspecific feeding event of two hummingbird species in southeast Mexico". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 133 (2): 333–339. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14847294.v1.