Brazilian Ruby
Brazilian Ruby (Heliodoxa rubricauda)
Name Origin:
The genus name Heliodoxa combines the Greek helios meaning “sun” and doxa meaning “glory” or “splendor,” referring to the genus’s intense iridescence. The species name rubricauda comes from Latin ruber (“red”) and cauda (“tail”), describing its characteristic reddish tail feathers.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 9.5–11 cm (3.7–4.3 in)
⚖️ Weight: 5.5–7 g (0.19–0.25 oz)
🌎 Range: Eastern and southeastern Brazil (Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais)
🧭 Elevation: 400–2,000 m (1,300–6,560 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small arthropods
🏡 Habitat: Atlantic Forest, forest edges, gardens, and highland clearings
🧬 Clade: Heliantheini "Brilliants" (montane forest hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN)
Subspecies & Distribution
Monotypic species — no recognized subspecies.
Distribution: Endemic to eastern and southeastern Brazil, occurring from Bahia south through Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Most common in montane Atlantic Forest, forest edges, and shrubby highlands, often visiting gardens and forest clearings rich in flowers.
Species Overview
The Brazilian Ruby is among the most dazzling hummingbirds of South America’s Atlantic Forest. With its radiant ruby throat and rich green plumage, it stands out among forest-edge flocks and flowering trees. It is also one of the most frequently observed large hummingbirds in southeastern Brazil, readily adapting to gardens and human-altered landscapes.
Male Description:
The male has brilliant metallic emerald-green upperparts and underparts, a glowing ruby-red throat (gorget), and bronze-green wings. The tail is reddish-bronze with copper reflections, slightly forked, and contrasts sharply with the green plumage. The bill is straight and black. Males often perch conspicuously in sunlight, flashing their red throats during territorial displays.
Female Description:
The female lacks the ruby throat, showing green upperparts, grayish-white underparts with faint green mottling, and a bronze tail with rufous tones and pale tips. She forages more discreetly, often lower in flowering shrubs.
Habitat & Behavior:
The Brazilian Ruby inhabits montane and submontane Atlantic Forests, forest borders, and gardens. It feeds on nectar from native and introduced flowers, including Erythrina, Hibiscus, and Inga, and supplements its diet with small insects. It is aggressive and territorial, often chasing other hummingbirds and even larger birds from feeding areas. Its sharp, chattering calls and bright flashes of color make it easy to detect in forest light gaps.
Conservation Note:
The Brazilian Ruby is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and remains locally abundant. However, deforestation and habitat fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest continue to pose regional threats. Conservation of high-elevation forest corridors and native flowering vegetation is vital to maintaining healthy populations of this jewel-like Heliantheini hummingbird, one of Brazil’s most iconic avian species.
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