The Story
This Western Emerald (Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus) was photographed at Finca La Florida, at Kilometer 18 near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, at about 1,930 meters. It is found from the Western Andes of Colombia south into Ecuador. The male has an iridescent green forehead and crown with gold highlights and a steel-blue tail, while the female has a bronzy green crown and a blackish face with a pale gray spot behind the eye. It usually feeds at fairly low levels. The IUCN has not assessed it separately from the Blue-tailed Emerald, and it is fairly common across its range and readily uses man-made habitat.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L, at 1/750 sec, f/6.7, ISO 3200, −0.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Western Emerald (Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. IUCN does not yet assess the Western Emerald separately; this is the assessment of Blue-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus), which IUCN treats as including it. Source: IUCN Red List