Chlorostilbon maugaeus
SUBFAMILY
Trochilinae
TAXONOMY
Trochilus maugaeus Audebert and Viellot, 1801, Puerto Rico. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Antillian emerald; French: Émeraude de Porto Rico; German: Puerto-Rico-Smaragdkolibri; Spanish: Esmeralda Portorriqueña.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Female 3–3.3 in (7.5–8.5 cm), male 3.3–3.7 in (8.5–9.5 cm); female and male 0.12–0.13 oz (3.4–3.8 g). Male has short, straight bill, upper mandible black, lower red, tipped black; forehead and crown metallic green, dark shining green upperparts and uppertail-coverts; throat iridescent bluish green, rest of underparts and undertail-coverts glossy green; tail forked, shining steely blue. Female has bill black; forehead and crown dull dark green; upperparts and uppertail-coverts shining grass green; throat and breast are light gray becoming darker on belly; tail less forked, outer rectrices basally pale white, becoming brown in center and tipped with a large white spot, second outermost rectrices shing greenish white at base changing to steel blue, tipped with white spot, the next innermost two are
green from base to center, rest of feather dull brown, the inner rectrices are shining green. Immatures resemble adult females.
DISTRIBUTION
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands.
HABITAT
Coastal mangroves to forested mountain summits. Open forest, woodland and coffee plantations, from sea-level to 2,625 ft (800 m).
BEHAVIOR
Forages in low to medium strata 3.3–20 ft (1–6 m). Song consists of rapid tic notes given at various speeds ending in a rapid trill with a high-pitched buzz at the end. Sedentary.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on nectar of a wide spectrum of flowers, including Hohenbergia, Vriesea, Dilomilis, Epidendrum, Hedychium, Justicia, Ruellia, Clusia, and Erythrina. Trap-liner. Insects are caught in the air and cleaned from leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds from February to May, but irregular nesting all year round. The nest, a compact structure in the form of a small cup, is composed of dry plant fibers, such as tree fern scales, lined with wild cotton and other soft plant material, externally decorated with lichen. It is generally built in either low or medium-sized plants and trees. Two eggs, incubation 14–16 days by female. Chicks darkish gray with two rows of dark down on the upper side; fledging at 20–22 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Restricted-range species. Generally common throughout Puerto Rico. Readily accepts human-made habitats.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
