Golden-tailed Sapphire

Chrysuronia oenone

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernNectarForestTiny · 5 g

What the Golden-tailed Sapphire sounds like

Sonogram of the Golden-tailed Sapphire: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, trilled call · Napo: 3 km NW Guagua Sumaco, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The golden-tailed sapphire is 9.5 to 10 cm (3.7 to 3.9 in) long. Males weigh 4.7 to 6.3 g (0.17 to 0.22 oz) and females 4.3 to 5.3 g (0.15 to 0.19 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a slightly curved bill with a black maxilla and a black-tipped red mandible. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a violet-blue head and throat. Their back is bright green that transitions through bronze-green to bright coppery coverts and a copper-bronze tail. Their breast is glittering green, their belly bronze-green, and underneath their tail, their coverts are bronze with whitish edges. Voice: The golden-tailed sapphire's song is variable, described as "a repeated rhythmic phrase, often starting with a burry note, followed by several very squeaky or scratchy notes, and ending with repeated chips." It also makes calls described as "a drawn-out metallic trill and shorter chipping notes."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Golden-tailed Sapphire

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Golden-tailed Sapphire

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 5 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Brazil.

About the Golden-tailed Sapphire

The golden-tailed sapphire is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Golden-tailed Sapphire vs Versicolored Emerald · Golden-tailed Sapphire vs Sapphire-throated Hummingbird · Golden-tailed Sapphire vs Shining-green Hummingbird

Learn the Golden-tailed Sapphire in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.