Amethyst-throated Sunangel
Heliangelus amethysticollis
Medium-sized cloud forest hummingbird found in the Andes from southeastern Ecuador to Bolivia. The bold, white neck crescent is often its most obvious feature. Male has an iridescent violet throat and turquoise forehead, though these features can look dark in poor light. Female mostly lacks iridescence, and throat is often tinged orange or buff. Does not overlap with Tourmaline Sunangel; separated from other sunangels by white neck band. Usually seen foraging in clearings or at forest edge, and visits feeders in some areas.
Identification
The amethyst-throated sunangel, as defined by the IOC, is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 3.8 to 7.7 g (0.13 to 0.27 oz). The species has a straight, rather short, black bill. The adult male of nominate subspecies H. a. amethysticollis has shiny dark green upperparts with a bright green frontlet just above the bill. Its throat and upper breast gorget is rosy amethyst. That area has a narrow black border on the neck and a broader cinnamon band below it. The lower breast is glittery green and the rest of the underparts buff with green discs. The central tail feathers are bronze-green and the outer ones blue-black. The adult female is similar to the male but has a rusty throat with black flecks. Immatures are similar to the female.<p>Subspecies H. a. laticlavius has a reddish purple gorget, a whitish breastband, and a buffy grayish belly. H. a. decolor has a paler frontlet than the nominate; its gorget is a deeper violet, its breast band whiter, and its belly grayer. H. a. apurimacensis has a turquoise-green frontlet, a whitish buff breast, and a pale buff belly.
Taxonomy
The amethyst-throated sunangel's taxonomy is not settled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy assign these four subspecies to it:<p>The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society includes three other subspecies. They are H. a. violiceps and H. a. clarisse that IOC, HBW, and the Clements taxonomy treat as Longuemare's sunangel (H. clarisse) and H. a. spencei that they treat as the Mérida sunangel (H. spencei).
- Scientific name
- Heliangelus amethysticollis
- Authority
- (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Heliangelus
Range and habitat
The four subspecies of amethyst-throated sunangel are found thus:<p>The species inhabits wet and humid montane forest including cloudforest and elfin forest. Though it is found at forest edges and open bushy terrain, it prefers the interior of closed forest. In elevation it mostly ranges between 1,800 and 3,200 m (5,900 and 10,500 ft) but has been often recorded as high as 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in Peru.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The amethyst-throated sunangel is sedentary.<p>The amethyst-throated sunangel feeds on nectar and also includes a high percentage of insects in its diet. It defends feeding territories that are dense with nectar sources; with its short bill it primarily feeds at flowers with shallow corollas. It typically feeds at heights up to 6 m (20 ft) and always near cover at the forest edge or interior. It captures insects by hawking from a perch.<p>The amethyst-throated sunangel nests in Peru during February and March. It builds a nest of fine plant fiber, moss, and lichens attached to a strand of moss dangling from a branch. It typically places it about 1.5 m (5 ft) above ground and under a leaf or clump of moss that shelters it from weather. The clutch of two eggs is incubated by the female, who first breeds in her second year. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.<p>The amethyst-throated sunangel's call is "a short, buzzy, dry trill...repeated at intervals."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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