Andean Emerald
Common name: Andean Emerald
Scientific name: Uranomitra franciae
Clades: Trochilini - Emeralds
The Andean emerald is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh about 5.6 g (0.20 oz) and females about 5.3 g (0.19 oz).
Andean Emeralds are found along humid and wet forest borders, in second-growth trees, and in highland clearings. Elevations can change significantly during the season, but most occur above 1000 meters. Their song might sound similar to that of a Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola), but the Andean Emerald has a less melodious sound.
Their bills are straight to slightly decurved. This bird glistens violet-blue at the crown, golden to emerald-green on its cheeks and neck, light to golden-green on its upperparts and flanks, copperish tinges on the uppertail-coverts, white at the center of the underparts, bronze-green to copperish on the tail, sometimes with a purplish tinge to its inner rectrices. In females, the crown is less glittery and more turquoise-blue to greenish in color. A juvenile male's crown coloration resembles that of a female, and he also has brownish feather borders on the entire upperparts, while the flanks are greyish brown.
3 subspecies:
U. f. franciae
Distribution Andes of NW and C ColombiaU. f. viridiceps
Distribution SW Colombia (Nariño) and W Ecuador (S to Loja).U. f. cyanocollis
Distribution Andes of SE Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe) and N Peru (Marañón Valley S to E La Libertad).
taken in Colombia
taken in Peru
