Heliodoxa imperatrix
The Empress Brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix) is a resplendent, medium-sized hummingbird, immediately recognizable by its deeply iridescent emerald-green plumage that shimmers with every turn. Males, reaching about 15-17 cm in length including their striking forked tail and weighing 8-10 grams, boast a glittering purplish-blue gorget (throat patch) and a distinct white post-ocular stripe, which provides a key identification mark against their dark auriculars. Females are slightly smaller and g...
Primarily inhabits humid cloud forests, forest borders, and secondary growth within mountainous regions, typically found at elevations ranging from 900 to 2000 meters.
Feeds predominantly on nectar gathered from a variety of flowering plants, supplemented by small arthropods, such as insects and spiders, gleaned from foliage or caught in flight.
Empress Brilliants are diurnal, active foragers throughout the day, often seen hovering expertly at flowers or darting through dense undergrowth. They employ a foraging strategy known as trap-lining, systematically visiting a circuit of nectar-producing flowers, sometimes defending these routes f...
The Empress Brilliant is a resident species found exclusively in the humid montane cloud forests of northwestern South America. Its primary range extends across the Andes of southwestern Colombia, specifically in the western and central Andes, and continues southward into northwestern Ecuador. In...
Least Concern
- The Empress Brilliant gets its regal name from its dazzling, iridescent green plumage, reminiscent of a royal jewel. - Male Empress Brilliants possess a strikingly long, deeply forked tail that can make up nearly half of their total body length. - They are known for "trap-lining," a foraging st...