Violet-fronted Brilliant (Heliodoxa leadbeateri)

Identification & Behavior: ~14 cm (5.5 in). The male Violet-fronted Brilliant is all green with violet cap and iridescent green throat and breast. The female is green above with a blue cap and characteristic white stripe below the eye. The underparts are whitish heavily speckled with green. The center of the belly can be tawny in some females. The tail is greenish and notched in both sexes. The juvenile looks like a female with a rufous area below the eye. The female can be similar to a Many-spotted Hummingbird but is distinguished by a blue cap and a distinctive white stripe below the eye.

Status: The Violet-fronted Brilliant is uncommon in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 900-2300 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Brillante de Frente Violeta.

Sub-species: Violet-fronted Brilliant (Heliodoxa leadbeateri sagitta), Reichenbach, 1854. E Ecuador and N Peru (S to Pasco).
(Heliodoxa leadbeateri otero), Tschudi, 1844. E slope in C & S Peru and NW Bolivia (to Cochabamba).

Meaning of Name: Heliodoxa: Gr. Hēlios= sun and doxa= glory, magnificence. leadbeateri: In honor of Benjamin Leadbeater, Sr. (1773-1851) English natural history dealer in London 1800-1837.

See more of the Family Trochilidae