Purple-backed Sunbeam (Aglaeactis aliciae)

Identification & Behavior: ~12 cm (5 in). The Purple-backed Sunbeam is overall dusky with an irregular white patch on the breast. It also has a white chin, lores, and area around the eyes. The rump in the adult male is iridescent purple with shades of golden. The tail is slightly notched and mostly dusky, with white on the base. The bill is black and straight. It may overlap with the common and widespread Shining Sunbeam.

Status: Endemic. The Purple-backed Sunbeam is uncommon in semi-humid scrub in a very restricted area on the west side of the Marañon Valley at elevations ranging between 3000-3400 m.

Name in Spanish: Rayo-de-Sol de Dorso Púrpura.

Sub-species: Purple-backed Sunbeam (Aglaeactis aliciae), Salvin, 1896.

Meaning of Name: Coeligena:  L. coelum or caelum=  heaven and gignere=  to bring forth. aliciae: Probably in honor of Dame Alice Mary Godman (1868-1944) Deputy President of the British Red Cross Society, and second wife of English ornithologist Frederick DuCane Godman.

See more of the Family Trochilidae