White-chinned sapphire
| White-chinned sapphire | |
|---|---|
| Female (above) and male (below) in São Paulo, Brazil | |
CITES Appendix II
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Chlorestes |
| Species: | C. cyanus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chlorestes cyanus (Vieillot, 1818)
| |
The White-chinned sapphire (Chlorestes cyanus) is a small species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in northern and eastern South America. It inhabits a variety of environments, including lowland tropical forests, woodland edges, and clearings with scattered trees. This species is known for its distinctive steel-blue tail and sexual dimorphism, with males displaying a violet-blue head and throat and a coral-red bill, while females have subdued green plumage. The White-chinned sapphire feeds primarily on nectar from flowering plants but also consumes small arthropods such as insects and spiders. It is non-migratory species and occurs as a year round resident throughout much of its range.
This species was formerly placed in the genus Hylocharis. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Hylocharis was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the white-chinned sapphire was moved to Chlorestes.