Glittering-throated Emerald

Photo by Jacamar
Glasgow, EBB, Guyana, December 2005

Amazilia fimbriata

Includes Tachira Emerald

Identification

8–12 cm (3¼-4¾ in)
It has a "glittering" green throat and a white stripe down the centre of the belly.
The bill is almost straight - black above and pink below.

Distribution

Female
Photo by erikat
AdeK University, Uitvlucht (Paramaribo), Suriname, June 2007

Northern half of South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

Taxonomy

This species is sometimes placed in genus Polyerata.

Subspecies

Male, Subspecies nigricauda
Photo by Francisco Paludo
Casa da Rosane Taborda, Morretes, PR, Brazil, June 2017

There are 8 subspecies^[1]:

• A. f. elegantissima:

• Extreme north-eastern Colombia to northern Venezuela

• A. f. distans:

• Andes of western Venezuela (Táchira). Probable hybrid

• A. f. fimbriata:

• North-eastern Venezuela to Guianas and Brazil north of the Amazon

• A. f. apicalis:

• Colombia east of the Andes

• A. f. fluviatilis:

• South-eastern Colombia and eastern Ecuador

• A. f. laeta:

• North-eastern Peru

• A. f. nigricauda:

• Eastern Bolivia and central Brazil south of the Amazon

• A. f. tephrocephala:

• Coastal south-eastern Brazil (Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul)

The subspecies distans is sometimes considered a full species "Tachira Emerald", Amazilia distans.

Habitat

Gallery forest, second growth, xerophytic areas, open deciduous woodland, savannas, thorny scrub, gardens, llanos.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet includes nectar.

References

Feeding through a hole made by Bananaquit
Photo by Pantanal1
Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2014)
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Glittering-throated Emerald. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Glittering-throated_Emerald

External Links

Search for photos of Glittering-throated Emerald in the gallery