The copper-tailed hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is native to the tepuis of Venezuela and nearby areas of Brazil and Guyana; it is a vagrant in French Guiana.
Region
Guiana Shield (tepui highlands)
Typical Environment
Occurs on tepuis and adjacent uplands of southeastern Venezuela, extending into nearby highlands of northern Brazil (Roraima area) and western Guyana; it is an occasional vagrant to French Guiana. It favors edges of montane evergreen forest, elfin woodland, and shrubbery on tepui slopes and summits. Birds also use forest clearings, streamside thickets, and savanna–forest ecotones where flowering shrubs are abundant. It readily visits garden plantings in highland settlements when available. The species is generally local but can be fairly common where habitat is suitable.
Altitude Range
800–2000 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This emerald hummingbird is confined to the tepui highlands of the Guiana Shield, where it frequents forest edges, scrub, and clearings. Its namesake coppery tail contrasts with glittering green upperparts, making it one of the more distinctive highland hummingbirds of the region. It is typically sedentary and strongly territorial around rich nectar sources. Though local in distribution, it is generally considered of low conservation concern.
Temperament
territorial and alert
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Mostly solitary outside breeding, with males vigorously defending nectar resources against other hummingbirds. Courtship involves aerial chases and display flights near favored flowers. The nest is a small cup of plant fibers and spider silk placed on a horizontal branch or fork, often near a clearing. Breeding likely coincides with peaks in flowering during the wet season.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are thin, high-pitched chips and short, dry trills delivered from a perch or while foraging. Wing hum is audible at close range and may intensify during display flights.
Plumage
Glittering green head and upperparts with a bronzy sheen, clean whitish to grayish underparts with green spangling on the throat and breast, and a distinctly coppery-rufous tail with darker tips.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from a wide array of tubular flowers on shrubs and small trees, probing methodically and guarding rich patches. It supplements nectar with small arthropods, gleaned from foliage or captured in short sallies. In mixed-flowering events, it may tolerate other species briefly but typically resumes territorial behavior. It occasionally visits artificial feeders in highland settlements.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, clearings, streamside thickets, and tepui scrub where flowering plants are concentrated. Uses both understory and mid-canopy blossoms and often returns repeatedly to favored routes.
