Blue-headed Sapphire

About the Blue-headed Sapphire

The Blue-headed sapphire or Gray's hummingbird (Chrysuronia grayi) is a species of hummingbird in the emerald's tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. The blue-headed sapphire was formerly placed in the genera Hylocharis and Amazilia. It was moved by most taxonomic systems to Chrysuronia based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retains it in Amazilia.

The blue-headed sapphire is monotypic. However, at one time what is now Humboldt's sapphire (C. humboldtii) was treated as a subspecies of it. The blue-headed sapphire is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh 6.2 to 6.8 g (0.22 to 0.24 oz) and females 4.6 to 5.6 g (0.16 to 0.20 oz). Males have a straightish coral red bill with a black tip. Females' bills have a black maxilla with red at its base and a mostly pinkish mandible with a black tip. Adult males have a deep glittering blue upper throat, face, and crown. Their nape is dark blue-green and the rest of their upperparts metallic green. Their tail is dark steel blue. Their lower throat... Wikipedia →