Blue-chinned sapphire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue-chinned sapphire |
|
|---|---|
_male.jpg) |
|
| Male C. n. notata, Trinidad | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chlorestes
|
| Species: |
notata
|
 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Chlorostilbon notatus |
|
The blue-chinned sapphire (also called the blue-chinned emerald) is a tiny, colorful bird known as a hummingbird. Its scientific name is Chlorestes notata. You can find this bird in many parts of South America, from Colombia all the way to Brazil and Peru. It also lives on islands like Trinidad and Tobago. In Brazil, it lives near the Amazon River and in the Atlantic Forest. This forest stretches along the coast for about 3,000 kilometers (about 1,860 miles). Sometimes, scientists group it with other hummingbirds in a different family called Chlorostilbon.
Blue-chinned sapphires like to live in forests. They can also be found in gardens or farms that have many big trees. The female hummingbird builds a deep, cup-shaped nest. She uses soft plant materials and lichen, often placing it on a flat tree branch. The eggs hatch after about 16 days. The young birds are ready to fly out of the nest in another 18 to 19 days.
These hummingbirds eat small insects and nectar from flowers. They mostly find their food in trees, but also on vines, bushes, and other plants like Heliconia. The song of the blue-chinned sapphire sounds like a high, metallic ssooo-ssooo-ssooo.
What Does It Look Like?
The blue-chinned sapphire is a small bird, about 8.9 centimeters (3.5 inches) long. It weighs around 3.8 grams (0.13 ounces), which is about the same as two paper clips! Its beak is fairly straight. The top part of the beak is black, and the bottom part is reddish.
- The male blue-chinned sapphire* is mostly green. Its back is a darker green. It has white feathers on its upper legs (thighs). Its tail is forked, meaning it splits into two points, and is a shiny metallic blue. The top part of its throat is also blue and looks metallic.
- The female blue-chinned sapphire* looks a bit different from the male. Her underside is white with green spots.
