Golden-tailed Sapphire
Golden-tailed Sapphire (Chrysuronia oenone)
Name Origin:
The genus Chrysuronia derives from Greek chrysos (“gold”) and oura (“tail”), a direct reference to the species’ glittering golden tail. The epithet oenone refers to a figure in Greek mythology — Oenone, a nymph renowned for her beauty — perfectly capturing the bird’s luminous elegance.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 8.5–9.5 cm (3.3–3.7 in)
⚖️ Weight: 3.5–4.0 g (0.12–0.14 oz)
🌎 Range: Northern and western South America
🧭 Elevation: Sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small insects
🏡 Habitat: Forest edges, clearings, riverine forest, and plantations
🧬 Clade: Trochilini “Emeralds” (lowland and foothill hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN 2024)
Subspecies & Distribution
Three subspecies:
1. Chrysuronia oenone oenone
Distribution: Sierra de Perijá, and northern and western Venezuela, south through east-central Colombia to eastern Ecuador, extreme northeastern Peru (northern Amazonas, northwestern Loreto), and adjacent western Brazil.
2. Chrysuronia oenone josephinae
Distribution: Found across eastern Peru, primarily along the upper Amazon Basin and Andean foothills.
3. Chrysuronia oenone alleni
Distribution: Occurs in northern Bolivia, mainly in La Paz and Pando departments, in humid lowland and submontane forest.
Species Overview
The Golden-tailed Sapphire is one of South America’s most resplendent lowland hummingbirds. Its gleaming golden tail, sapphire-blue head, and emerald body make it a vivid presence along the edges of tropical forests and river basins. It is a frequent visitor to flowering shrubs and secondary growth, where its metallic plumage catches sunlight in flashes of green and gold.
Male Description:
The male has metallic blue-green upperparts, a deep blue head and throat, and golden-bronze tail feathers that shimmer brightly in sunlight. The underparts are emerald-green, blending into the bronzy-gold tail. The bill is black and slightly decurved.
Female Description:
The female is green above with grayish underparts, a white throat with green spotting, and a bronzy tail tipped with white. She lacks the male’s intense head coloration but retains the same golden tail tones.
Habitat & Behavior:
Found in forest edges, clearings, riverine forest, and secondary woodland, often below 1,000 meters elevation. Feeds primarily on nectar from Inga, Stachytarpheta, Hamelia, and Erythrina species, and supplements its diet with small arthropods. The Golden-tailed Sapphire perches frequently and aggressively defends preferred feeding patches from other hummingbirds.
Conservation Note:
The Golden-tailed Sapphire is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and remains widespread and common throughout much of its range. It adapts well to lightly disturbed areas and secondary vegetation. Habitat loss through deforestation and agriculture poses local pressures, especially in Peru and Bolivia, but the species persists in many protected areas, including Yasuní National Park (Ecuador) and Madidi National Park (Bolivia). Maintaining lowland forest corridors and riparian buffers will help ensure healthy populations of this brilliant Trochilini species.
Below is the Golden-tailed Sapphire (Chrysuronia oenone oenone)
Photographed at Hacienda La Leona Birdwatching, Cundinamarca, Colombia, and at Waqanki / Quebrada Mishquiyaquillo and Asociación Koepcke’s Hermit, San Martín, Peru
These individuals belong to the subspecies oenone, which occurs from eastern Colombia and north-western Venezuela south through eastern Ecuador into north-eastern Peru. It inhabits humid forest edge, clearings, and secondary growth, typically between 200 and 1 200 meters.
taken in Peru
