Garden Emerald

Garden Emerald

Chlorostilbon assimilis

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park

In 3 days <5%

31 Verified sightings at Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,222 In all 14 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Garden Emerald

The garden emerald (Chlorostilbon assimilis) is a small hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The garden emerald was at one time considered a subspecies of the blue-tailed emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus). As its own species, it is monotypic.

The garden emerald is 7.8 to 8.5 cm (3.1 to 3.3 in) long and weighs about 3 to 4.1 g (0.11 to 0.14 oz). The adult male has dark metallic green upperparts with bluish green uppertail coverts. Its forked tail is blue-black and the central feathers have a light bluish green gloss. Its underparts are a brighter metallic green than the upperparts, sometimes with a light blue sheen, and it has white thigh tufts. The adult female has bright metallic green to bronze green upperparts with bluish green uppertail coverts. Its tail is blue-black, with dull metallic green central feathers and pale gray tips on the outer ones. It has dusky cheeks, a white or grayish white spot behind the eye, and pale gray underparts. Juvenile males are like the adult female but darker gray below.

The garden emerald is found... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:34

Costa Rica · 2025

© Scott Olmstead · XC1055901 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:05

Costa Rica · 2018

© Brendan Sloan · XC482694 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
2 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
3 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
4 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
5 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
6 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
7 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
8 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
9 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
10 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
11 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
12 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
14 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Garden Emerald in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Emerald sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 385th most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Garden Emerald in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Emerald in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Garden Emerald?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Garden 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 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park the best place to see a Garden Emerald?

13th of 14

Of the 14 parks where we can rate Garden Emerald sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in Chirripó National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%), Coiba National Park (Panama, about 10%) and Parque Natural Metropolitano (Panama, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Garden Emerald live in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park?

Same family: Trochilidae

The closest relatives of the Garden Emerald that you can see in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Volcano Hummingbird (about 60%), Talamanca Hummingbird (about 50%) and Lesser Violetear (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Garden Emerald sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Garden Emerald is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (31 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.

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