Chlorostilbon is a genus of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae, known as emeralds (as are some hummingbirds in the genera Amazilia and Elvira). A single species, the blue-chinned sapphire is variously placed in the monotypic genus Chlorestes or in Chlorostilbon. The taxonomy of the C. mellisugus superspecies is highly complex and, depending on view, includes 1-8 species. All species in this genus have straight black or black-and-red bills. The males are overall iridescent green, golden-green or bluish-green, and in some species the tail and/or throat is blue.[2] The females have whitish-grey underparts, tail-corners and post-ocular streak.

Chlorostilbon
Blue-tailed emerald
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Tribe: Trochilini
Genus: Chlorostilbon
Gould, 1853
Type species
Chlorostilbon prasinus[1] = Trochilus pucherani
Gould, 1853
Species

See text

The genus Chlorostilbon was introduced in 1853 by the English ornithologist John Gould to accommodate a single species to which Gould gave the binomial name Chlorostilbon prasinus.[3] This taxon is now considered as a subspecies of the glittering-bellied emerald Chlorostilbon lucidus pucherani.[4][5][6]

Species

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The genus contains ten species:[6]

Genus Chlorostilbon Gould, 1853 – ten species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Garden emerald

 

Chlorostilbon assimilis
Lawrence, 1861
Costa Rica and Panama
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Western emerald

 
Male
 
Female

Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus
Gould, 1860
Colombia and Ecuador.
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Red-billed emerald

 
Male
 
Female

Chlorostilbon gibsoni
(Fraser, 1840)

Three subspecies
  • C. g. gibsoni
  • C. g. chrysogaster
  • C. g. nitens
Colombia and Venezuela
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Blue-tailed emerald

 

Chlorostilbon mellisugus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Seven subspecies
Colombia east to the Guianas and Trinidad, and south to northern Bolivia and central Brazil
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Chiribiquete emerald


Chlorostilbon olivaresi
Stiles, 1996
Colombia
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Glittering-bellied emerald

 
Male
 
Female

Chlorostilbon lucidus
(Shaw, 1812)

Three subspecies
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Coppery emerald

 

Chlorostilbon russatus
(Salvin & Godman, 1881)
Colombia and Venezuela
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Narrow-tailed emerald


Chlorostilbon stenurus
(Cabanis & Heine, 1860)
Colombia and Venezuela
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Green-tailed emerald


Chlorostilbon alice
(Bourcier & Mulsant, 1848)
Venezuela
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Short-tailed emerald

 
Male
 
Female

Chlorostilbon poortmani
(Bourcier, 1843)

Two subspecies
  • C. p. poortmani
  • C. p. euchloris
Colombia and Venezuela
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


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References

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  1. ^ "Trochilidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. ^ Stiles, F. Gary (1996). "A New Species of Emerald Hummingbird (Trochilidae, Chlorostilbon) from the Sierra de Chiribiquete, Southeastern Colombia, with a Review of the C. mellisugus Complex". The Wilson Bulletin. 108 (1): 1–27. ISSN 0043-5643. JSTOR 4163634.
  3. ^ Gould, John (1853). A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds. Vol. 5. London: self. Plate 355 and text (Part 5 Plate 14). The 5 volumes were issued in 25 parts between 1849 and 1861. Title pages of all volumes bear the date of 1861.
  4. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 36.
  5. ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Remsen, J.V. Jr., eds. (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non-passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-9568611-0-8.
  6. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 February 2023.