| Empress brilliant | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Heliodoxa |
| Species: | H. imperatrix |
| Binomial name | |
| Heliodoxa imperatrix (Gould, 1856) | |
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The empress brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. [3] [4]
In the early part of the 20th century the empress brilliant was treated as the only member of genus Eugenia, which was later merged into the present Heliodoxa. [5] The species is monotypic. [3]
Male empress brilliants are 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weigh about 9.3 g (0.33 oz). Females are 12 to 13.5 cm (4.7 to 5.3 in) long and weigh about 8.3 g (0.29 oz). The adult male's forehead, face, and breast are mostly glittering dark green, with a square glittering pale violet patch in the center of the throat. Its crown and nape are dark green and the rest of the upperparts dark bronzy green. Its belly is glittering golden green. The central tail feathers are dark bronze and the rest longer and black with a bronze gloss. The adult female's upperparts are bronzy green. The center of its throat and breast are grayish with much bronzy green flecking, the flanks solid bronzy green, and the belly golden green. The central tail feathers are bronzy green and the others dull black with a bronze gloss. [6]
Immature males have a dull dark bronzy green head, throat, and breast; bright buff chin and sides of the throat; and a duller and bronzier green belly than the adult. Immature females also have a buffy chin, and the green feathers of the breast are duller than the adult's and have buffy fringes. [6]
The empress brilliant is found on the Pacific slope of the Andes from Colombia's Chocó Department south into Ecuador as far as Pichincha Province. It inhabits a variety of very wet landscapes including foothill forest, the interior and edges of cloudforest, and mature secondary forest. In elevation it ranges from 400 to 2,000 m (1,300 to 6,600 ft). [6]
The movements of the empress brilliant, if any, have not been described. [6]
Both sexes of empress brilliant forage from the mid-level to the forest canopy, and females also forage in the understorey. A primary source of nectar are the flowers of Marcgravia and Marcgraviastrum vines, where it perches to feed. It also feeds by hovering under drooping flowers of Ericaceae. In addition to feeding on nectar, it also captures small insects by gleaning from foliage and hawking from a perch. [6]
The empress brilliant's breeding season spans from January to April. The few known nests were cups of tree fern scales and other plant material held together with spider silk and lined with soft seed fluff. Very little else is known about the species' breeding phenology. [6]
One empress brilliant vocalization is a "repeated single 'tsit' note". It is also given singly while hovering and feeding. [6]
The IUCN has assessed the empress brilliant as being of Least Concern. However, it has a restricted range and its population size and trend are unknown. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It appears to be reasonably common and occurs in some protected areas. "[Its] very wet forest habitat still mostly intact". [6]
The green-crowned brilliant is species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. It is also known as the green-fronted brilliant.
The colorful puffleg is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The sapphire-spangled emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is regularly found in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela; as a vagrant in Argentina; and has possibly occurred in Ecuador.
The white-bellied woodstar is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The glittering-bellied emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The golden-bellied starfrontlet is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The rainbow starfrontlet is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The black-bellied thorntail is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The rufous-webbed brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Peru.
The pink-throated brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The violet-fronted brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The black-throated brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the tribe Heliantheini or subfamily Lesbiinae. It lives in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The velvet-browed brilliant is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The stripe-breasted starthroat is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Brazil.
The blue-headed sapphire or Gray's hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
The dot-eared coquette is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.
The red-billed ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and possibly Ecuador.
The crowned woodnymph or violet-crowned woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Belize and Guatemala to northern Peru.
The green-backed hillstar, formerly included in the white-tailed hillstar, is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The Perija starfrontlet is an Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
