Coppery-headed Emerald
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Size: 7.6 cm (3 in.) in length
Weight: 3 g (0.11 oz)
Colour Pattern: Coppery-headed Emeralds have a decurved bill and white outer tail feathers with black near the tip. The crown, upper tail, and central tail feathers of the male are copper. Interestingly, males found in the Cordillera de Guanacaste boast a purple spot in the center of the chest, while birds found elsewhere in the country do not. The male has distinctive coppery crown and rump with a whole green belly and white vent. The female has a white belly and a narrow black sub-terminal band on white outer rectrices of the tail.
Behaviour: Coppery-headed Emeralds prefer cool, wet, highland forests and their edges, but also occupy pastures with trees, second growth, and shaded coffee plantations. Within the forest interior, males spend the majority of their time in the canopy and females remain in the understory. However, around edges and gaps in the forest, both sexes forage at all heights on small flowers. During the breeding season, a handful of small males sing together and chase after each other at lek sites. Following the breeding season, most males and females descend to elevations of 300-600 m.
Habitat: Coppery-headed Emerald occurs in and near humid montane forest. Males frequently ascend to the forest canopy, females (but not males) often are in forest understory, and both sexes occur "at all levels" at forest edges, at gaps in the forest, and in other semiopen sites.
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trochiliformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Elvira
Species: E. cupreiceps
Weight: 3 g (0.11 oz)
Colour Pattern: Coppery-headed Emeralds have a decurved bill and white outer tail feathers with black near the tip. The crown, upper tail, and central tail feathers of the male are copper. Interestingly, males found in the Cordillera de Guanacaste boast a purple spot in the center of the chest, while birds found elsewhere in the country do not. The male has distinctive coppery crown and rump with a whole green belly and white vent. The female has a white belly and a narrow black sub-terminal band on white outer rectrices of the tail.
Behaviour: Coppery-headed Emeralds prefer cool, wet, highland forests and their edges, but also occupy pastures with trees, second growth, and shaded coffee plantations. Within the forest interior, males spend the majority of their time in the canopy and females remain in the understory. However, around edges and gaps in the forest, both sexes forage at all heights on small flowers. During the breeding season, a handful of small males sing together and chase after each other at lek sites. Following the breeding season, most males and females descend to elevations of 300-600 m.
Habitat: Coppery-headed Emerald occurs in and near humid montane forest. Males frequently ascend to the forest canopy, females (but not males) often are in forest understory, and both sexes occur "at all levels" at forest edges, at gaps in the forest, and in other semiopen sites.
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trochiliformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Elvira
Species: E. cupreiceps