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To the Beauty of Birds

The White-chested Emerald (Amazilia brevirostris) is a hummingbird found in eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, Trinidad and far northern Brazil (Roraima).

It is a widespread and common species in Trinidad, less so in Venezuela. It appears to be a local or seasonal migrant, although its movements are not well understood. It is a bird of cultivation, woodland and forest. The female lays her eggs in a small cup nest made of plant fibre and placed on a horizontal tree branch.

The white-chested emerald is approximately 9 cm long and weighs 4.7 g. The black bill is straight and fairly long, at nearly 2 cm. It has bright golden-green upperparts, becoming bronze on the tail, white underparts, and its flanks are green, or white spotted with green. The tail is tipped with purple-black. The sexes are similar.

White-chested emeralds feed on nectar, usually taken from the flowers of large trees, but sometimes from smaller plants such as Heliconia. They also take small insects. The song of this species is a churring tche-tche-tche-tche-tche.

These photos were taken at the ASA Wright Nature Center, Trinidad

White-chested Emerald