Sapphire-spangled Emerald

Sapphire-spangled Emerald

Chionomesa lactea

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at São Paulo

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

532 Verified sightings at São Paulo
1,780 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Sapphire-spangled Emerald

The sapphire-spangled emerald (Chionomesa lactea) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is regularly found in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela; as a vagrant in Argentina; and has possibly occurred in Ecuador.

The sapphire-spangled emerald has at various times been placed in genera Hylocharis, Polyerata, and until 2014 in Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Amazilia was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the sapphire-spangled emerald and glittering-throated emerald (Chionomesa fimbriata) were moved by most taxonomic systems to the resurrected genus Chionomesa that had been introduced in 1921 by Eugène Simon. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retains it in Amazilia.

The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC), the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy assign these three subspecies to the sapphire-spangled emerald:

The... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:06

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1186314 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:09

Brazil · 2019

© Fernando Igor de Godoy · XC705722 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:46

Brazil · 2020

© Marcos Melo · XC590528 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~30%
2 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
5 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
6 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Sapphire-spangled Emerald in São Paulo?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sapphire-spangled Emerald sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 532 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 102nd most-seen of the 353 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.

When is the best time to see a Sapphire-spangled Emerald in São Paulo?

March and June–August

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sapphire-spangled Emerald in São Paulo on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and September–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Sapphire-spangled Emerald?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sapphire-spangled 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.

Is São Paulo the best place to see a Sapphire-spangled Emerald?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Sapphire-spangled Emerald sightings, São Paulo ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Belo Horizonte (Brazil, about 20%).

Where does the Sapphire-spangled Emerald sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Sapphire-spangled Emerald is recorded against all the birds logged in São Paulo (532 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.

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