Violet-headed Hummingbird (Klais guimeti)

Identification & Behavior: ~8.8 cm (3.4 in). The male Violet-headed Hummingbird has green upperparts. It has a violet cap and throat. The breast is gray and grades to whitish towards the belly. The female is green above with a violet cap. The underparts are gray. Both sexes have a conspicuous white post-ocular spot. The tail is greenish on the upper side and dusky on the underside with gray tips. The bill is black and straight. The Sapphire-spangled Emerald has violet on the throat but is larger with a pale central stripe in the belly.

Status: The Violet-headed Hummingbird is uncommon in montane forests of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 500-1500 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Colibrí de Cabeza Violeta.

Sub-species: Violet-headed Hummingbird (Klais guimeti pallidiventris), Sztolcman, 1926.

Meaning of Name: Klais:  Kleis, daughter of Lesbian lyric poetess Sappho (the mother of Sappho was also called Kleis). guimeti: In honor of Jean Baptiste Guimet (1795-1871) French industrial chemist who devised (1826) a process to produce synthetic ultramarine (Bleu-Guimet or Outremer-Guimet).

See more of the Family Trochilidae