Chlorestes notata
The Blue-chinned Sapphire (Chlorestes notata) is a dazzling, diminutive hummingbird, instantly recognizable by the male's iridescent violet-blue chin and throat, contrasting sharply with his shimmering grass-green upperparts and breast, often extending onto the flanks. Females, while also green above, exhibit a duller, sometimes dusky or pale blue-green throat, and both sexes feature a distinct white post-ocular stripe that adds to their charm. Measuring approximately 8.5 to 9.5 cm in length ...
This vibrant hummingbird primarily inhabits tropical and subtropical lowland forests, forest edges, clearings, secondary growth, plantations, and gardens, typically found at elevations from sea level up to 1200 meters.
The diet of the Blue-chinned Sapphire consists primarily of nectar gathered from a wide variety of flowering plants, supplemented by small arthropods caught in flight or gleaned from foliage.
Highly active during daylight hours, the Blue-chinned Sapphire is a quintessential diurnal feeder, often observed zipping between flowers or perching to scan for insects. They employ a combination of "trap-lining," visiting a circuit of flower patches, and hawking, snatching small insects from th...
The Blue-chinned Sapphire is a widely distributed and resident species across northern South America. Its extensive breeding range spans eastern Colombia, Venezuela (including the Caribbean coast and Margarita Island), Trinidad and Tobago, the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana), and su...
Least Concern
- The Blue-chinned Sapphire's iridescence is structural, meaning the color comes from the microscopic structure of its feathers refracting light, rather than from pigments. - Despite its small size, this hummingbird has an incredibly high metabolism, requiring it to feed almost constantly through...