Microchera cupreiceps
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The coppery-headed emerald (Microchera cupreiceps) is a small hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Costa Rica. The coppery-headed emerald was formerly placed with the white-tailed emerald (M. chionura) in the genus Elvira. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that these two species were closely related to the snowcap in the then-monospecific genus Microchera. The International Ornithological Committee and the Clements taxonomy placed the three species together in Microchera which has priority. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains them in Elvira.
The coppery-tailed emerald is monotypic. The coppery-headed emerald is about 7.5 cm (3.0 in) long and weighs about 3.0 to 3.3 g (0.11 to 0.12 oz). Both sexes have a moderately decurved bill whose mandible has a pinkish base. The adult male has a dull coppery bronze crown, a bronze green nape, back, and rump, and bright coppery bronze uppertail coverts. Its central pair of tail feathers are bronze, the next three pairs white with pale gray tips, and the outermost pair white with black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Coppery-headed Emerald sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 578 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 226th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July–August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Coppery-headed Emerald in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–June, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Coppery-headed Emerald sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Coppery-headed Emerald sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%) and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Coppery-headed Emerald is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (578 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
