Chrysolampis mosquitus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The ruby-topaz hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus), commonly referred to simply as the ruby topaz, is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Aruba, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Curaçao, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The ruby-topaz hummingbird was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Trochilus mosquitus. The type locality is Suriname. The ruby-topaz hummingbird is now the only species placed in the genus Chrysolampis, which was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1831. The name Chrysolampis is from the Ancient Greek khrusolampis meaning "glow-worm". The specific name mosquitus is a Spanish diminutive and means "little fly". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The ruby-topaz hummingbird is 8 to 9.5 cm (3.1 to 3.7 in) long and weighs 2.5 to 5 g (0.09 to 0.18 oz). Its almost straight, black bill is relatively short compared to those of most other hummingbirds. The male has dark brown upperparts with an olive gloss. Its crown... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 2 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 6 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-topaz Hummingbird sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 368 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-topaz Hummingbird in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in October and November, the lowest months. That is one of Main Ridge Forest Reserve's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 230 mm in October.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruby-topaz Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Ruby-topaz Hummingbird sightings, Main Ridge Forest Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 10%) and Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombia, under 5%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird that you can see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Copper-rumped Hummingbird (about 70%), Rufous-breasted Hermit (about 70%) and White-tailed Sabrewing (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (368 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.
