The versicoloured emerald (''Chrysuronia versicolor'') is a species of

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

from central and eastern South America.

Taxonomy

The

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

is very complex and remains a matter of dispute. The

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

(''C. v. versicolor'') occurs in two main morphs; a white-throated coastal type and a green/turquoise-throated inland type.Weller, A. A. (1999). Versicolored Emerald (''Chrysuronia versicolor''). Pp. 597 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds (1999). ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

.'' Vol. 5. Bar-owls to Hummingbirds. Lyxn Edicions, Barcelona. At some localities individuals with intermediate features are commonly seen, but at others the two morphs seemingly co-occur without signs of

intergradation In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both. There are two types of intergradation: primary and secondary intergradation. Primary ...

. 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'',Chebez, J. C., R. Castillo, R. Güller, & L. Castillo. (2008). ''Sobre la situación taxonómica de Amazilia brevirostris (Lesson, 1829) y su presencia en la Argentina.'' Las Ciencias 1: 67-81. but this has been disputed,Weller, A. A., & K. L. Schuchmann (2009). ''Re-evaluation of Agyrtria brevirostris Lesson (Aves, Trochilidae), with notes on its taxonomic status and relationships to A. chionopectus Gould and A. versicolor Vieillot.'' Zoosystematics and Evolution. 85(1): 143-149 and has yet to gain wide recognition. Amazilia versicolor-2

The exact distribution limits between several

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

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.Gill, F., & M. Wright (2008).
IOC World Bird Names
'' Version 1.6. This was based on plumage and reported sympatry with ''C. versicolor'' ( ssp?), but except for the blue to the head, ''C. v. rondoniae'' is very similar to ''C. v. nitidifrons'', and any evidence for sympatry is lacking. It was therefore "de-listed" by the

South American Classification Committee The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

, and is now considered a subspecies of the versicolored emerald, with some even suggesting that ''rondoniae'' is entirely invalid.South American Classification Committee (2005):
Treat Amazilia rondoniae as a subspecies of Amazilia versicolor.
'' This species was formerly placed in the genus ''

Amazilia ''Amazilia'' is a hummingbird genus in the subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical Central America, Central and South America. Taxonomy The genus ''Amazilia'' was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist René Lesson. Lesson had us ...

''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2014 found that ''Amazilia'' was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. In the revised classification to create

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

genera, the versicoloured emerald was moved to '' Chrysuronia''.

Description

It has a total length of 8–10 cm (3–4 in). The relatively long, slightly decurved bill is black with flesh-colored (occasionally orange) base to the lower mandible. The tail is coppery-green with a dark subterminal band. The upperparts and flanks are coppery-green. The central underparts and crissum (the undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

surrounding the

cloaca A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilagin ...

) are white. The color of the throat, face-sides and crown varies greatly both individually and depending on

. The throat ranges from all greenish or turquoise (edged white in female) in inland nominate, ''nitidifrons'' and ''kubtcheki'', to bluish in ''rondoniae'' and white (essentially a continuation of the white central underparts) in coastal nominate, ''hollandi'' and ''millerii''. Most races have green face-sides and crown, but this is typically turquoise-blue or azure blue in ''hollandi'' and ''rondoniae''.

Distribution and habitat

It occurs in northern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, far north-eastern Argentina, and eastern, southern and central Brazil, being absent from the arid

Caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

and most of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, although locally extending into this region in the south-east and along major rivers (e.g. the Amazon River and Rio Negro). A population, possibly disjunct (although exact distribution limits often are incompletely known in this part of Brazil), occurs in far north-western Brazil, southern Venezuela, western Guyana and eastern Colombia. It occurs in a wide range of semi-open habitats with some trees; even in urban areas. It generally avoids the interior of humid primary forest, and in regions where such habitats dominate, it mainly occurs in relatively open sections or along forest borders (e.g. the vicinity of major rivers).Restall, R. L., C. Rodner, & M. Lentino (2006). ''Birds of Northern South America.'' Christopher Helm, London. (vol. 1). (vol. 2). It is widespread, generally fairly common (more localized in the Amazon Basin) and possibly benefits from the widespread

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

in tropical South America.

References

External links

Versicolored Emerald videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

VIREO ttp://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Amazilia+versicolor Photo-High Res* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070205122040/http://www.avespampa.com.ar/Picaflor_Esmeralda2.jpg Photo-High Resbr>Article
avespampa

FAUNA Paraguay. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1004802 versicoloured emerald Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Venezuelan Amazon Birds of Brazil Birds of the Amazon rainforest Birds of the Bolivian Amazon Hummingbird species of South America versicoloured emerald Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN