Green Thorntail
Green Thorntail (Discosura conversii)
Name Origin:
The genus Discosura combines the Greek diskos meaning “disk” and oura meaning “tail,” referring to the rounded or spatulate tail feathers found in some species within the genus. The species epithet conversii honors French naturalist Jules de La Rive Conver.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in)
⚖️ Weight: 2.6–3.0 g (0.09–0.11 oz)
🌎 Range: Caribbean slope of Honduras and Nicaragua south through Costa Rica and Panama into western Colombia and western Ecuador
🧭 Elevation: 100–1,200 m (330–3,940 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small arthropods
🏡 Habitat: Humid lowland and foothill forest, forest edge, and second growth
🧬 Clade: Lesbiini “Coquettes and Thorntails”
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN 2024)
Subspecies & Distribution
Monotypic — no subspecies recognized.
Species Overview
The Green Thorntail is a small, elegant hummingbird with a striking silhouette, especially in males. It prefers humid forest edge and second-growth habitats where flowering shrubs and trees are abundant. Often seen feeding at canopy-level flowers, it can also hover at lower blossoms in clearings or forest gaps.
Male Description:
Glossy green upperparts, black face, and a long, deeply forked tail with narrow outer streamers. Underparts are black with a bold white band across the lower belly. Tail feathers give the “thorn” shape in profile.
Female Description:
Green above with white-spotted underparts and a shorter, squared tail with white tips. Lacks the long tail streamers of the male. Often appears more compact and less flashy in flight.
Habitat & Behavior:
Primarily found at low to mid elevations in humid forest and second growth. Forages mainly in the canopy and forest edge, favoring epiphytes, Inga trees, and flowering shrubs. Often joins mixed-species hummingbird assemblages. Hover-gleans insects and traps nectar via a quick, erratic flight pattern. Generally solitary and not strongly territorial.
Conservation Note:
Although populations are declining locally due to habitat loss, the Green Thorntail remains fairly common across much of its range and is listed as Least Concern. It tolerates some forest disturbance and secondary growth, but depends on flowering tree cover and humid forest corridors. Continued forest degradation, especially in lowland Chocó and Central America, may impact future populations.
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