Purple-throated Sunangel
Heliangelus viola
Medium-sized hummingbird with a rather limited range in southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Unmistakable: mostly emerald-green with a purple throat and a blue forecrown. Also note the fairly short, straight bill. Sexes similar, but female is slightly duller. Occurs at forest edge and shrubby areas from around 1,800 to 3,300 m. Visits feeders.
Identification
The purple-throated sunangel is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 5.1 to 6.6 g (0.18 to 0.23 oz). It has a short, straight, blackish bill. Both sexes have shining green upperparts and green bellies. Their central tail feathers are shining green and the others blackish. Adult males have a glittering blue-green frontlet just above the bill and a deep violet iridescent gorget with a blue-green pectoral bar below it. Adult females lack the blue-green frontlet and iridescent gorget. Their throat is tawny to off-white with bronzy green speckles. Juveniles are similar to the adult female. The differences among the "Clements" subspecies are treated by the other taxonomic systems as being within the range of variation of the nominate.
Taxonomy
The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) treat the purple-throated sunangel as monotypic. However, the Clements taxonomy splits it into three subspecies, H. v. viola, H. v. pyropus and H. v. splendidus.
- Scientific name
- Heliangelus viola
- Authority
- Gould, 1853
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Heliangelus
Range and habitat
The purple-throated sunangel is found on the west slope of the Andes from north-central Ecuador south into Peru as far as the departments of Cajamarca and Amazonas. When treated as separate subspecies, H. v. viola is found east of the Marañón River in northern Peru, H. v. pyropus in southern Ecuador and northwestern Peru, and H. v. splendidus in northern Peru west of the Marañón. The species inhabits a variety of landscapes including the interior and edges of cloudforest and secondary forest, alder (Alnus) woodlands, and shrubby areas. In elevation it ranges between 2,150 and 3,000 m (7,100 and 9,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The purple-throated sunangel is sedentary.<p>The purple-throated sunangel feeds on nectar and insects. In parts of Ecuador it appears to be dependent on the introduced Eucalyptus globulus; at the least its distribution is correlated with that tree's altitudinal occurrence. It captures insects by hawking from a perch and by gleaning from vegetation.<p>The purple-throated sunangel's breeding season spans from October to January. The clutch of two white eggs is incubated by the female. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding phenology.<p>The purple-throated sunangel's calls include "a loose series of short dry trills 'trr..tr..trr....trr..', and a repeated, drawn-out, dry, buzzy 'bzzzrrr'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Freckled Duck
Stictonetta naevosa
Very finely-speckled dark-grayish duck with a dark eye and an obvious peaked crown. Beak is strongly curved like a ski-jump. Breeding males have a red base to their bill. Upper-wing is dark, while under-wing is paler gray. When perched, distinguish from Hardhead (which have a pale belly patch). Generally uncommon; found beside inland waterholes and ponds. More reliable inland, but can be common one year and absent the next from any given location.
Mountain Chickadee
Poecile gambeli
White stripe above the eye separates it from other chickadees. Otherwise, much like other chickadees: grayish overall with a big head, tiny bill, and black cap and throat. Tends to be in high-elevation mountainous areas with dry, coniferous forests. Active and acrobatic. Often in flocks with nuthatches and kinglets. Visits feeders.
Eastern Miombo Sunbird
Cinnyris manoensis
A medium-sized typical ‘double-collared’ sunbird. Larger and longer-billed than similar-plumaged Western Miombo Sunbird (and ranges hardly overlap); Eastern Miombo male has broader red breast band, darker gray belly, and less prominent yellow wingpit tufts. Female and immature have a gray-brown head, pale gray throat, and pale lemon breast and belly. Singles and pairs are residents and nomads in Miombo woodland, gallery forest, arid savanna, and other woodland. Sings a slower, louder, less rambling song than Western Miombo Sunbird that does not end in a long descending trill.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.