Gilded Sapphire

Fascinating facts about the Gilded Sapphire

• At just 8 to 10 cm long and weighing only 4–5 g, the gilded sapphire fits on the tip of a finger yet can hover like a tiny helicopter, a reminder that extreme agility isn’t limited to larger birds.
• Males flash an iridescent golden-green plumage with a glittering bronze tail, while females look duller with a grayish belly, showing how subtle color shifts can signal sex without a single feather changing shape.
• In Brazil the breeding season stretches from September to February, and the female builds a cup nest 4–6 m above ground, sometimes as high as 10 m, demonstrating how even a modest branch can become a safe sky-high cradle.
• This hummingbird drinks nectar from both native and introduced flowers at every canopy level and also snatches insects mid-air and plucks spiders from webs, illustrating a diet as diverse as a rainforest buffet.
• Although listed as Least Concern, the species thrives in gardens and plantations and is even expanding its range, proving that some wildlife can adapt and flourish alongside human development.

At a glance

About the Gilded Sapphire

The gilded sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura) dazzles the eye with its iridescent golden-green plumage, a pale rufous chin, and a glittering golden-bronze tail that flickers like a sunlit river. Measuring just 8 to 10 cm in length and weighing a feather-light 4 to 5 g, both sexes bear a medium-length, straight coral-red bill tipped in black, while females display a subtler hue and a grayish lower belly. Juveniles echo the female’s tones but are edged with buff fringes on the head feathers, hinting at the adult’s brilliance before it fully matures. In the open savannahs, forest edges, plantations, and garden clearings of northeastern Bolivia through central and southeastern Brazil to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, these hummingbirds flit at elevations most often between 400 and 800 m, though they can be found from 200 m up to 1,000 m and occasionally higher. Their movement is largely sedentary, yet populations in parts of Brazil and adjacent Bolivia undertake seasonal migrations, a pattern still shrouded in mystery. The gilded sapphire’s diet is a relentless quest for nectar across a mosaic of native and introduced flora, complemented by agile insect hawking from perches and delicate spider-gleaning from webs. A surprising trait is its willingness to embrace human-altered landscapes; gardens and plantations become as inviting as wildflower patches, allowing this tiny jewel to expand its range with ease. Its song, a high-pitched, cricket-like trill, drifts through the air, while a terse dry rattle punctuates its presence, weaving an audible tapestry that guides mates and rivals alike.

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