Canivet's Emerald
| Scientific name | Mayan name | Español | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cynanthus canivetii | Yax Tzunuum | Chupaflor Esmeralda | Canivet's Emerald |
The Canivet's Emerald is a tiny, dazzling hummingbird that looks like a flying gemstone as it flits through the Yucatecan scrub. The male is almost entirely a brilliant, metallic grass-green from its head to its belly, which shimmers with a golden or bluish tint depending on how the sun hits its feathers. Its most striking feature is its long, deeply forked tail that is a dark, steely blue-black, often held closed into a sharp point or flared out like a pair of scissors during flight.
Its bill is short, straight, and bright red with a distinct black tip, making it look like a tiny needle. While the males are bold and flashy, the females are more subtle, with a metallic green back but a pale gray or white underside a nd a small white "mask" behind their eyes. Because of its small size, this hummingbird is incredibly agile, often hovering almost invisibly deep inside flowering bushes like the Firecracker Plant to avoid being chased away by larger, more aggressive birds.
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