Cuban emerald

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The Cuban emerald is a small hummingbird found on Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several Bahamian islands (including Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Andros, and Green Cay). It’s common there and currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Size and appearance
- Males: about 10.5–11.5 cm long; weight around 2.5–5 g; dark shining green upperparts with a bronze tinge, iridescent green underparts, a white spot behind the eye, and a deeply forked tail.
- Females: about 9.5–10.5 cm; similar upperparts but brownish-gray underparts with metallic green flanks and a white eye spot; tail is less forked.

Habitat
- Lives in a variety of wooded areas, including open forests, parks, gardens, and plantations from sea level up to high elevations (well over 1,000 m, and occasionally near 2,000 m on Cuba).

Food
- Forages mainly for nectar from flowers, staying close to the ground (usually below 6 m). It also catches small insects by hawking from perches or gleaning from spider webs.

Breeding
- Can breed year-round, but in Cuba most activity is April–July.
- Builds a cup-shaped nest from plant fibers, moss, and bark, often covered with lichen and bark pieces, and placed 1–4 m above the ground.
- Female lays two eggs; incubation lasts about 15–16 days; fledging occurs 19–22 days after hatch.

Voice
- Males sing with a rapid rolling series of “slee” notes and metallic sounds; females emit a high-pitched “seeeee” flight call and other brief sounds.

Conservation
- The Cuban emerald has a large range and no major threats are known, so it is considered of Least Concern. It is generally common and adaptable to human-altered habitats.