Chrysuronia versicolor
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The versicoloured emerald (Chrysuronia versicolor) is a species of hummingbird from central and eastern South America. The taxonomy is very complex and remains a matter of dispute. The nominate subspecies (C. v. versicolor) occurs in two main morphs; a white-throated coastal type and a green/turquoise-throated inland type. At some localities individuals with intermediate features are commonly seen, but at others the two morphs seemingly co-occur without signs of intergradation. The coastal morph was formerly known as C. brevirostris, but a review lead to this name being considered to belong to the white-chested emerald of northern South America. Recently, it has been suggested that the coastal type should remain as C. brevirostris, but this has been disputed, and has yet to gain wide recognition.
The exact distribution limits between several subspecies of the versicoloured emerald are poorly known, and, in addition to the coastal nominate, some other subspecies have been considered separate species, especially the blue-green emerald (C. (v.) rondoniae), also known as the Rondonia emerald. This was based on plumage and reported sympatry with C. versicolor (ssp?), but... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Versicolored Emerald sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Versicolored Emerald in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to August, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Versicolored 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 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Versicolored Emerald sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 20%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Versicolored Emerald that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Violet-capped Woodnymph (about 70%), Sombre Hummingbird (about 50%) and Saw-billed Hermit (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Versicolored Emerald is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (78 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.
