HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES

Empress Brilliant

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Heliodoxa imperatrix

The Empress Brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae.

It is a large hummingbird. Males are about 5.9 – 6.7 inches in length and weigh about 9 · 3 grams. Females are about 4.7 – 5.3 inches in length and weigh about 8 · 3 grams.

Males have a violet throat patch.

Females have white on their throats and breasts.

Young birds have a rusty wash on face and throat.

A repeated single "tsit" note, at a rate of c. 1 note per second.

Prefers flowers with relatively short tube-shaped flowers, but it willingly visits feeders.

Favors very wet, epiphyte-laden forest, and visits feeders in some areas.

Andean cloud forest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia.

Nest (perhaps incomplete) is a downy cup of balsa floss and cobweb, plastered on top of palm frond 10 m up.

SOURCES:
https://ebird.org
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.oiseaux.net
https://birdscolombia.com