Amethyst-throated Sunangel

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Quick Facts

  • Scientific Name: Heliangelus amethysticollis
  • Spanish Name: Solángel gorjiamatista
  • Family: Trochilidae
  • Known Nicknames: Amethyst Sunangel, Amethyst-throated Hummingbird
  • Average Length: 10–12 cm / 4–5 in
  • Average Weight: 4.5–6 g / 0.16–0.21 oz
  • Wingspan: 12–13 cm / 4.7–5.1 in
  • Key Feature: Iridescent amethyst throat and crown
  • Primary Diet: Nectarivore (nectar and small insects)
  • Range: Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
  • Habitat: Montane cloud forest and humid montane forest at elevations 2000–3000 m
  • Social Structure: Solitary or loose aggregations at feeding sites
  • Nesting/Breeding: Small cup nest in tree or shrub
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Amethyst-throated Sunangel (*Heliangelus amethysticollis*) is a dazzling high-altitude hummingbird native to the cloud forests of the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes. Its most striking feature is the male's brilliant, iridescent amethyst-purple throat patch (gorget), which contrasts vividly with its emerald-green upperparts, chestnut belly, and a glittering blue-green crown. This compact bird, with a slightly forked tail and a narrow white line behind the eye, hovers expertly among flowering shrubs and bromeliads at elevations over 2,000 meters. A special adaptation to its misty realm, it favors the canopy edge, feeding primarily on tubular blossoms with its specialized bill, while its rapid wingbeats produce a low humming that blends into the mountain air.

Fun Facts

Males of this species perform a dramatic aerial display, ascending high above the forest and then plummeting with an explosive, cricket-like wing chirp produced by their specialized tail feathers. Despite its dazzling throat, the bird is often heard before seen due to its persistent, metallic "tsik" call. It has an unusually long, decurved bill for a sunangel, allowing it to access nectar from deep, tubular flowers that other hummingbirds cannot reach, and it will aggressively defend these floral territories even against much larger species.

Habitats & Distribution

This species inhabits humid montane and cloud forests, often at elevations between 1,200 and 2,800 meters. It favors forest edges, clearings, and secondary growth, as well as mossy, epiphyte-laden woodlands, where it forages in the understory and lower canopy. Its geographical range spans the eastern slopes of the Andes from central Peru south through Bolivia and into northwestern Argentina, including the departments of Amazonas, San Martín, Cusco, and Puno in Peru; La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz in Bolivia; and Jujuy, Salta, and Tucumán in Argentina.

Behaviours & Reproduction

Males are solitary and highly territorial, defending feeding perches in cloud forest understory with persistent vocalizations and aerial chases against intruders. Courtship involves a hovering display where the male shows off his iridescent purple throat patch to a perched female, often accompanied by a descending flight whistle. After mating, the female alone constructs a small cup nest of moss and plant fibers, typically placed on a vertical branch or fern frond. She incubates two white eggs for about 15–16 days, and both sexes may feed the chicks, though the male’s involvement is inconsistent. The species does not exhibit cooperative breeding or lekking, and pairs form only briefly for reproduction, with no long-term pair bond. A notable strategy is the timing of nesting to coincide with peak flowering of specific understory plants, ensuring a reliable nectar supply for the demanding brood.

Diet

The Amethyst-throated Sunangel is a specialized nectarivore, feeding primarily on the nectar of flowering plants, particularly those with tubular blossoms such as species of *Fuchsia*, *Bomarea*, and *Centropogon*, which it probes while hovering with its long, brush-tipped tongue. To meet its high metabolic demands, it consumes up to half its body weight in nectar daily, often visiting several hundred flowers per hour. Interestingly, its diet also includes small arthropods—such as spiders, flies, and soft-bodied insects—which it gleans from foliage or catches in midair to obtain essential proteins and amino acids, especially during the breeding season when chicks require more protein. The bird’s feeding schedule is closely tied to the daily bloom cycle of its preferred flowers, and it exhibits traplining behavior, visiting a consistent circuit of scattered, productive plants to maximize energy intake.

Colors

The Amethyst-throated Sunangel has brilliant iridescent green upperparts and a glittering amethyst-purple gorget that shimmers in the light, bordered below by a narrow white or buffy band. Its underparts are mostly grayish-green with a whitish belly, and the tail is forked with dark, iridescent blue-green feathers edged in pale tips. There is a small white postocular spot behind the eye. The male’s vivid throat patch stands out against the forest understory, while the female is duller with a reduced or absent gorget, offering some camouflage among mossy vegetation.

Distribution Map

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