Purple-throated Sunangel Heliangelus viola Scientific name definitions

These medium-sized hummingbirds are shining green and males have stunning violet gorgets. The extent of gorget coloration is highly variable on females, possibly even changing seasonally, and with gorgets sometimes appearing whitish and not at all purple. Both sexes have deeply forked tails. Purple-throated Sunangels live in cloud forests, forest edges, thickets, alder (Alnus) woodlands, second growth, and shrubby areas. Males are often seen out on open perches. In some parts of Ecuador, these hummingbirds appear to rely on flowers of Eucalyptus trees.

11–12 cm; 5·1–6·6 g. Straight bill blackish . Male has shining green upperparts with a glittering blue-green frontlet ; the highly iridescent gorget is deep violet and bordered below by a blue-green pectoral bar ; belly green; the tail is rather long and deeply forked with the central pair of rectrices the same colour as the back, the outer tail feathers are blackish. Female similar to male but has no violet gorget, throat tawny to off-white, more or less speckled with bronzy green. Juvenile resembles female.

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• Amethyst-throated x Purple-throated Sunangel (hybrid) Heliangelus amethysticollis x viola

Calls include a loose series of short dry trills “trr..tr..trr....trr..”, and a repeated, drawn-out, dry, buzzy “bzzzrrr”.

Oct–Jan. Clutch two white eggs ; incubation by female. An adult recorded feeding chicks in Jan. No further information.