Chlorostilbon stenurus
The Narrow-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon stenurus) is a jewel-toned hummingbird endemic to the cloud forests and montane regions of the northern Andes, captivating observers with its iridescent plumage and distinctive tail. Males are a brilliant, shimmering grass-green overall, often appearing darker on the crown and brighter on the throat and breast, complemented by a short, straight black bill and a subtle white spot behind the eye. Their most defining feature is a deeply forked, narrow, da...
Found primarily in humid subtropical and tropical montane forests, forest edges, clearings, and secondary growth, often including coffee plantations. It typically inhabits elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 meters, occasionally seen higher or lower.
Feeds primarily on nectar extracted from a variety of flowering plants, using its long, specialized tongue. Supplements its diet with small arthropods, such as insects and spiders, caught in flight or gleaned from vegetation.
Narrow-tailed Emeralds are diurnal and highly active, spending their days foraging for nectar and insects, with males often perching conspicuously to guard territories. Their foraging strategy involves hovering delicately at flowers to extract nectar and hawking small insects in mid-air or gleani...
The Narrow-tailed Emerald is an endemic resident of the northern Andes, with its distribution spanning across Venezuela, Colombia, and extending into the extreme northwestern parts of Ecuador. In Venezuela, it is found in the Cordillera de la Costa and throughout the Andean states of Mérida and T...
Least Concern
- Despite its small size, weighing less than a U.S. penny, the Narrow-tailed Emerald has an incredibly high metabolism, requiring constant feeding to fuel its rapid wingbeats. - Its heart can beat over 1,200 times per minute during strenuous activity, one of the fastest heart rates among vertebra...