Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The western emerald (Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. The western emerald was originally described as a species and later treated as a subspecies of the blue-tailed emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus). Since the early 2000s the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy have again treated it as a species in its own right. However, as of 2020 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retained it as the C. mellisugus subspecies.
The IOC treats the western emerald as monotypic. The western emerald is 10.9 to 11.4 cm (4.3 to 4.5 in) long and weighs about 2.6 g (0.092 oz). Both sexes of both subspecies have a short black bill. The nominate... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Emerald sighting in Medellín on a given day, based on 162 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 90th most-seen of the 244 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Emerald in Medellín on a given day, against under 5% in March–September and November–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western 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 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Western Emerald sightings, Medellín ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Quito (Ecuador, about 10%) and Cali (Colombia, under 5%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Western Emerald that you can see in Medellín (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 50%), Black-throated Mango (about 20%) and Steely-vented Hummingbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Emerald is recorded against all the birds logged in Medellín (162 verified sightings), 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.
