Sparkling Violetear

Large high-Andean hummingbird, about 14 cm in length, uniformly green. Bill black, long, and slightly curved. Overall coloration iridescent green. Shows a bright bluish-violet patch on the throat and ear coverts (the latter erectile during display). Distinct bluish-violet patch on the belly. Tail bluish-green, deeply forked. Undertail coverts greenish (not white). Female similar, somewhat duller and with a small whitish postocular spot. Very similar to the Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), with which it may coexist in northwestern Argentina, but Colibri coruscans is larger, shows an extensive blue belly patch, has greenish (not white) undertail coverts, and lacks the more marked violet postocular patch shown by the Lesser Violetear.

Distribution: Broad Andean distribution from northern South America to northwestern Argentina. Occurs from Venezuela and Colombia through the Andes of Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia, northern Chile, and northwestern Argentina. In Argentina it inhabits mainly Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, and La Rioja, with scarcer and more occasional records in San Juan and Mendoza.

Habitat: Shrubby and wooded ravines in the Prepuna and high-Andean environments with scattered trees. Also at forest edges and in high-elevation gardens. Mainly between 1,800–3,000 m a.s.l. May perform altitudinal movements.

Behavior: Very aggressive and territorial. Generally solitary. Remains perched for long periods on high perches from which it sings and monitors flowers. Song monotonous, metallic, and repetitive. During display performs exhibition flights with more complex sounds and trills.

Feeding: Feeds on nectar and arthropods captured in flight. Primarily takes nectar from a wide variety of flowers of high-Andean trees and shrubs, both native and introduced when visiting gardens. Feeds from low levels up to the canopy. Supplements its diet with small arthropods, captured in flight or gleaned from foliage and flowers. Strongly territorial around flowering trees, dominating other hummingbirds and actively defending its resources.

Breeding: Nest cup-shaped, built with soft plant fibers and decorated with lichens, placed on horizontal branches, shrubs (2–8 m above ground) (photo), or in rock crevices. Clutch of 2 eggs. Incubation 17–18 days, carried out by the female.

Conservation status: Species not threatened at national or international level. It is a common species in suitable habitats.


Author of this compilation: Diego Carus and María Belén Dri – 03/04/2026