{"id":246979,"date":"2026-02-06T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fauna\/western-emerald\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T12:08:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T17:08:56","slug":"western-emerald","status":"publish","type":"fauna","link":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/faune-2\/western-emerald\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Emerald"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":246689,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":""},"collection":[],"country":[11],"fauna-group":[27488],"fauna-type":[27217],"class_list":["post-246979","fauna","type-fauna","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-colombia","fauna-group-hummingbirds","fauna-type-birds"],"acf":{"scientific_name":"Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus","animal_description":"The Western Emerald (*Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus*) is a breathtaking hummingbird native to the lush forest edges and gardens of the Western Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. This small but vibrant bird is defined by the male's brilliant, iridescent emerald-green plumage and a strikingly long, deeply forked, blue-black tail that shimmers during flight. Its most distinctive anatomical feature is its straight, entirely black bill, a trait reflected in its scientific name that sets it apart from many of its close relatives. While the males are a uniform flash of jewel-toned green, the females possess an understated elegance with a pale grey underside and a prominent white stripe behind the eye. Exceptionally agile, these birds are master aerialists, darting between nectar-rich flowers with rapid-fire wingbeats that make them a mesmerizing highlight of the high-altitude Andean landscape.","animal_habitat":"This hummingbird is primarily restricted to the western slopes of the Andes, ranging from south-central Colombia through western Ecuador. It is typically found at elevations between 600 and 2,700 meters, though it may occasionally be seen in lower foothills or higher montane zones depending on seasonal resource availability.\n\nIts preferred habitats include humid and semi-humid forest edges, secondary growth, and open woodlands. It is also highly adaptable to human-altered environments, frequently appearing in gardens, agricultural plantations, and scrubby clearings where it can easily access nectar-rich flowering plants.","animal_behavior_and_reproduction":"Typically solitary and highly territorial, these birds aggressively defend nectar-rich floral patches against both conspecifics and other nectarivores. During the breeding season, males engage in a polygynous mating system, performing spectacular aerial displays, including steep U-shaped dives, to attract multiple females. Once mating is complete, the social bond dissolves, as males do not participate in nesting or chick-rearing, focusing instead on maintaining their individual territories.\n\nThe female is solely responsible for reproductive labor, constructing a small, cup-shaped nest from plant down, moss, and lichen. These materials are bound together with spider silk, providing a flexible structure that expands as the typically two nestlings grow. She incubates the eggs and feeds the young a mixture of nectar and small insects, strategically placing the nest in low, sheltered vegetation to protect the brood from predators and environmental stressors.","diet":"The Western Emerald primarily sustains itself on a diet of high-energy nectar gathered from a diverse array of flowering plants, including species within the Ericaceae, Gesneriaceae, and Bromeliaceae families. Using its specialized long bill and extensible tubular tongue, it extracts sugar-rich liquid to fuel its exceptionally high metabolism, often visiting flowers in a systematic \"trap-lining\" fashion or aggressively defending productive floral patches from other hummingbirds. To supplement this carbohydrate-heavy intake with essential proteins and minerals, this bird also actively hunts small insects and spiders, which it captures mid-air through agile aerial maneuvers known as hawking or gleans directly from the surface of leaves. An interesting aspect of its feeding ecology is its role as a vital pollinator; while it feeds, pollen adheres to its feathers and bill, facilitating the reproduction of many Andean plant species that have evolved specifically to be serviced by such hovering nectarivores.","colors":"The Western Emerald displays vibrant, iridescent grass-green plumage across its body, with males often featuring a subtle bluish sheen on the throat and a dark, slightly forked bluish-black tail. Females exhibit more muted green upperparts contrasted by grayish-white underparts and a characteristic pale stripe behind the eye. Their shimmering metallic feathers provide effective camouflage by mimicking the dappled light and shifting shadows of their tropical forest habitats.","fun_facts":"These tiny powerhouses are aggressive defenders of their territory, frequently chasing away much larger birds from their favorite nectar sources. They are expert \"trap-liners,\" memorizing specific routes between flowering plants to maximize feeding efficiency throughout the day. To survive the chilly Andean nights, they enter a state of torpor, drastically lowering their body temperature and heart rate to conserve energy. During courtship, males perform dramatic U-shaped aerial dives, using their iridescent feathers to flash like living jewels in the sunlight. Their scientific name, *melanorhynchus*, literally translates to \"black beak,\" highlighting their distinctively dark, needle-like bills used for precision feeding.","conservation_status_&_efforts":"The Western Emerald is currently classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, with a population trend that is considered stable. Although precise global census data is limited, the species remains common throughout its range in the humid and semi-arid regions of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. Its ability to inhabit a variety of environments, including gardens, secondary forests, and agricultural edges, has allowed it to maintain a consistent presence despite regional land-use changes.\n\nPrimary threats to the species include habitat fragmentation and loss driven by intensive agriculture and urban expansion, though it demonstrates significant resilience to these pressures compared to more specialized hummingbirds. Currently, no specific conservation measures are targeted exclusively at this species because it is widespread and adaptable. However, it benefits from the protection of broad ecological corridors and national parks within its distribution, and it is frequently included in wider avian biodiversity monitoring programs to ensure habitat connectivity remains sufficient.","endemic":false,"conservation_status":"Least Concern","ebird_link":{"url":"https:\/\/ebird.org\/species\/weseme1","title":"View on Ebird","target":"_blank"},"animal_related_page":{"url":"https:\/\/animalia.bio\/western-emerald","title":"View on Animalia","target":"_blank"},"fauna_family":"Trochilidae","fauna_known_nicknames":"Western Emerald Hummingbird","fauna_average_length":"7.5\u20138 cm \/ 3.0\u20133.1 in","fauna_average_weight":"2.6\u20133.5 g \/ 0.09\u20130.12 oz","fauna_wingspan":"10.0\u201311.0 cm \/ 3.9\u20134.3 in","fauna_key_physical_feature":"Brilliant iridescent emerald-green plumage and a straight, entirely black bill","fauna_primary_diet":"Primarily Nectarivore (Nectar and small arthropods)","fauna_geographical_range":"Western slopes of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador","fauna_preferred_habitat":"Subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, forest edges, and gardens","fauna_social_structure":"Solitary and highly territorial","fauna_breeding_site":"Small cup-shaped nests constructed from plant fibers and spiderwebs","fauna_conservation_status":"Least Concern (LC)","fauna_population_trend":"Stable","fauna_spanish_name":"Esmeralda occidental","fauna_french_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna\/246979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fauna"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=246979"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=246979"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-group?post=246979"},{"taxonomy":"fauna-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remote-expeditions.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fauna-type?post=246979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}