Coeligena inca
The Gould's Inca (Coeligena inca) is a striking, medium-sized hummingbird, typically measuring 11-13 cm (4.3-5.1 in) in length and weighing 5.5-7.2 g. Males are predominantly bronzy-green with a dazzling, iridescent violet-purple gorget that shimmers blue or black depending on the light, and prominent white leg puffs resembling 'snowy boots,' making them instantly identifiable. Females are generally duller, with a smaller or absent gorget and more dusky underparts. A deeply forked tail, bronz...
Found primarily in humid montane and cloud forests, forest edges, and secondary growth within the Andes, favoring elevations between 2,000 and 3,700 meters (6,500-12,000 feet).
Feeds primarily on nectar from a variety of long-tubed flowers, supplemented by small arthropods gleaned from vegetation or caught in flight.
Gould's Incas are diurnal and highly active, spending their days foraging and defending feeding territories. They employ a traplining strategy, regularly visiting a circuit of specific flower patches for nectar, though they also glean and hawk insects from foliage or in flight. Males are fiercely...
The Gould's Inca is a resident species found throughout the high-altitude Andean cloud forests of South America. Its distribution spans from southern Colombia, extending south through the humid montane regions of Ecuador and Peru, and reaching into central Bolivia. This species is non-migratory, ...
Least Concern
- Named after the renowned British ornithologist John Gould, who described many new bird species. - Its distinctive white leg puffs have earned it the nickname 'snowy-booted' or 'white-booted' hummingbird. - The iridescent violet-purple gorget of the male can appear blue, black, or even greenish ...