Woodnymphs – Bird Genus Thalurania – hummingbirds

The Woodnymph hummingbirds belongs to the bird genus Thalurania.

Emerald-bellied Woodnymph (Thalurania hypochlora)
Green-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania fannyi)

Distribution / Range

They mostly occur naturally in Central and South America, with only one race being found as far north as western Mexico.

They favor humid forest and tall second growth habitats.

Description

Males have a mostly green and violet-blue plumage.

Females are green above and partially whitish below, and have white-tipped tails.

Species and Ranges

  • Violet-crowned (or Purple-crowned) Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica)
    • Range: Occur naturally from Guatemala and Belize in Central America south to northern Colombia and western Venezuela in South America.
  • Green-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania fannyi)
    • Range: Occur naturally from eastern Panama in Central America, south through western Colombia (including the Cauca Valley) and Ecuador, to far north-western Peru in South America.
    • Subspecies: Emerald-bellied Woodnymph (Thalurania (fannyi) hypochlora) – Some authorities consider this a separate species.
  • Violet-capped Woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis)
    Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata)
    • Range: Found in the South American countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
  • Violet-capped Woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis)
    • Range: Found in south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, and far north-eastern Argentina (primarily Misiones Province) in South America.
  • Mexican Woodnymph (Thalurania ridgwayi)
    • Range: Western Mexico
  • Long-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania watertonii)
    • Range: North-eastern Brazil.
  • [Black-capped Woodnymph (Thalurania nigricapilla)] – Described as a species only in 2009. Not officially recognized yet.
    • Restricted to the Valle del Cauca in western Colombia.
    • ID: Lacks the iridescence to the crown.
Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata)

Woodnymph Hummingbird Species Images


Clicking on any of the below images will take you to the respective hummingbird species page – with information and more photos.


Woodnymphs Hummingbirds – bird genus Thalurania

  • Members of this genus occur naturally in Central and South America, with only one race being found as far north as western Mexico. Below are images of the different Woodnymph species.

Violet-capped Woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis)
Fork-tailed Woodnymph (Thalurania furcata)
Green-crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania fannyi)
Violet-crowned Woodnymph
Emerald-bellied Woodnymph

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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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