Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Ornithurae
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Apodiformes
Familia: Trochilidae
Subfamilia: Trochilinae
Genus: Chlorestes
Species: Chlorestes candida
Subspecies: C. c. candida – C. c. genini – C. c. pacifica
Name
Chlorestes candida (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
Type locality: Coban, Guatemala.
Synonyms
Trochilus candidus (protonym)
Agyrtria candida (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
Amazilia candida (Bourcier & Mulsant, 1846)
References
Primary references
Annales des Sci. Phys. et Nat., d'Agric. et d'Industrie, publ. par la Soc. Royale d' Agric. &c. Lyon. 9 Original description p. 326 BHL
Additional references
Mcguire, J.A., Witt, C.C., Remsen, Jr., J.V., Corl, A., Rabosky, D.L., Altshuler, D.L. & Dudley, R. 2014. Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of Hummingbirds. Current Biology 24: 910–916. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016 Full article PDF and ErratumReference page.
Stiles, F.G., Piacentini, V.Q. & Remsen, Jr., J.V. 2017. A brief history of the generic classification of the Trochilini (Aves: Trochilidae): the chaos of the past and problems to be resolved. Zootaxa 4269(3): 396–412. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4269.3.4 Full article (PDF).Reference page.
Vernacular names
English: White-bellied Emerald
español: Amazilia cándida
The white-bellied emerald (Chlorestes candida) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.[3][4]
Taxonomy and systematics
The white-bellied emerald was originally placed in genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Amazilia was polyphyletic.[5] In 2020 the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) moved it and four other hummingbirds into genus Chlorestes. In 2021 the Clements taxonomy followed suit. However, the 2020 Version 5 of BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it in Amazilia.[6][7][3][8][4]
The white-bellied emerald has three recognized subspecies, the nominate C. c. candida, C. c. genini, and C. c. pacifica.[3]
Description
The nominate subspecies of white-bellied emerald is 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) long and weighs 2.9 to 4.3 g (0.10 to 0.15 oz). Adults' upperparts are metallic bronze to bronzy green, with the back usually greener than the crown and neck. The underparts are white with metallic bronzy green from the cheeks to the flanks. The tail is metallic bronze; all but the central pair of feathers have a broad purplish bronze or blackish band near the end, and the outermost two pairs also have dull brownish gray tips. Immatures are similar to adults but the feathers of the crown, rump, and uppertail coverts have brownish tips.[9]
C. c. genini differs from the nominate only in having a longer and broader bill. The bill of C. c. pacifica is also heavier and stouter than that of the nominate, and the green of its back extends further onto the sides and flanks.[9]
Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of white-bellied emerald is found on the Caribbean slope from the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and Yucatán south through Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras into Nicaragua. C. c. genini is found in southeastern Mexico north of the nominate between San Luis Potosi and northern Oaxaca. C. c. pacifica is found in extreme southern Chiapas on the Pacific slope of Mexico and disjuctly in Guatemala. Specimens were collected in Costa Rica in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but there are no recent records there.[3][9]
The white-bellied emerald inhabits the interior and edges of lowland evergreen and semi-deciduous forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[9]
Behavior
Movement
The white-bellied emerald is resident in most of its range. Local populations make some seasonal movements.[9]
Feeding
The white-bellied emerald often feeds low to the ground but regularly forages at all levels up into the canopy. Its principal diet is nectar taken from a wide variety of flowering plants, and it also seeks insect prey in foliage. It is dominated by the larger rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacati). However, in 2019 a pair of researchers documented a female white-bellied emerald feeding a juvenile rufous-tailed hummingbird.[9][10]
Breeding
The male white-bellied emerald sings in leks and so is believed to be polygynous. The species' breeding season spans from February to May. Females build a cup nest on a horizontal branch, using plant material and cobweb decorated on the outside with lichen and moss. The clutch size is two eggs.[9]
Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.
Songs and calls
Listen to white-bellied emerald on xeno-canto
Vocalization
The white-bellied emerald's song is a "varied, high, thin, slightly shrill chipping, tsi'si-sit' tsi-tsin', also described as "a monotonous, high, squeaky tssi-ip tssi-ip ... or tsip tsip ... etc." Its calls are "mostly rolled or trilled chips, trirr and ti-ti or tsi-tsir, and longer drii-i-i-it and tsi si-si-si-sit, etc."[9]
Status
The IUCN has assessed the white-bellied emerals as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing due to habitat destruction.[1]
References
BirdLife International (2016). "White-bellied Emerald Amazilia candida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 12.1)". doi:10.14344/IOC.ML.11.2. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021
McGuire, J.; Witt, C.; Remsen, J.V.; Corl, A.; Rabosky, D.; Altshuler, D.; Dudley, R. (2014). "Molecular phylogenetics and the diversification of hummingbirds". Current Biology. 24 (8): 910–916. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.016. PMID 24704078.
Stiles, F.G.; Remsen, J.V. Jr.; Mcguire, J.A. (2017). "The generic classification of the Trochilini (Aves: Trochilidae): reconciling taxonomy with phylogeny". Zootaxa. 4353 (3): 401–424. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4353.3. PMID 29245495.
"Check-list of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
Arizmendi, M. d. C., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, and T. S. Schulenberg (2021). White-bellied Emerald (Chlorestes candida), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbeme1.01.1 retrieved February 14, 2022
Levy, Dallas; del Coro Arizmendi, María (2021). "A possible interspecific feeding event of two hummingbird species in southeast Mexico". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 133 (2): 333–339. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14847294.v1.
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