Description: Green hummingbird, 12–13 cm in length. Bill black, long, and slightly curved. Overall coloration bright iridescent green. Shows a bluish-violet patch on the ear coverts and postocular area, forming a more marked area behind the eye. Underparts uniformly green (without blue patch). Tail green with a metallic blue band near the tip. Undertail coverts white. Female similar, somewhat smaller and duller, with more grayish underparts. Very similar to the Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans), with which it may coexist in northwestern Argentina, but the Lesser Violetear is smaller, lacks the extensive blue belly patch, and shows white undertail coverts (greenish in C. coruscans). Additionally, it shows a more evident violet patch in the postocular area.

Distribution: Central and eastern South America: from Bolivia and Paraguay eastward through much of Brazil, reaching south to Santa Catarina, and southward to northern Argentina. In Argentina it is distributed mainly in the northwest (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, and Catamarca), with more isolated records in the northeast (Misiones).

Habitat: Inhabits yungas and semi-open montane environments of the northwest; rare in the Atlantic Forest, especially around Puerto Iguazú. Occupies shrublands, savannas, grasslands, and shrubby ravines, as well as forest edges and gardens. In the west mainly between 1,000–2,000 m, although it may occur from lowlands to higher elevations occasionally, reaching up to 2,500 m in Jujuy in the Purmamarca–Tilcara area. Resident, although some populations may perform altitudinal movements.

Behavior: Solitary, very aggressive and territorial. Actively defends flowering patches, chasing other hummingbirds and even insects. Emits sharp, harsh calls. Song repetitive and constant, often delivered for long periods from an exposed perch.

Feeding: Feeds on nectar from a wide variety of flowers of native and cultivated trees and shrubs. Strongly defends floral resources. Supplements its diet with arthropods, which it captures in flight or gleans from vegetation. It may even drive away lepidopterans attempting to feed from the same flowers.

Breeding: The female builds the nest, incubates, and raises the young alone. Nest cup-shaped, usually less than 1 m above the ground on branches or forks, made of fine fibers and moss, bound with spider webs and externally decorated with lichens. Clutch of 2 eggs. Incubation 15–16 days.

Conservation status: Species not threatened at national or international level. However, it is a somewhat rare and little-known species in Argentina.


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