Bronzy Inca
Bronzy Inca (Coeligena coeligena)
Name Origin:
The genus name Coeligena is derived from Latin coelum meaning “heaven” and -gena meaning “born of,” translating to “born of heaven.” The species name coeligena repeats this phrase, emphasizing the bird’s heavenly or radiant appearance.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 11–13 cm (4.3–5.1 in)
⚖️ Weight: 6–7 g (0.21–0.25 oz)
🌎 Range: Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
🧭 Elevation: 1,200–3,400 m (3,940–11,150 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small arthropods
🏡 Habitat: Humid montane forest, forest edge, and clearings with flowering shrubs
🧬 Clade: Heliantheini "Brilliants" (montane forest hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN)
Subspecies & Distribution
1. Coeligena coeligena coeligena
Distribution: Mountains of northern Venezuela (Falcón east to Miranda).
2. Coeligena coeligena zuliana
Distribution: Sierra de Perijá, along the northern Colombia–northwestern Venezuela border.
3. Coeligena coeligena columbiana
Distribution: Andes of northwestern Venezuela (south from Lara and northwestern Barinas) and Eastern Andes of Colombia (south to Huila).
4. Coeligena coeligena ferruginea
Distribution: Central and Western Andes of Colombia.
5. Coeligena coeligena obscura
Distribution: Eastern slope of the Andes of southern Colombia (Nariño) south through Ecuador and into northern Peru.
6. Coeligena coeligena boliviana
Distribution: Eastern slope of the Andes in central and southeastern Bolivia (La Paz to Chuquisaca).
Species Overview
The Bronzy Inca is one of the most widespread high-Andean hummingbirds. Its deep bronze tones, glowing green plumage, and steady flight make it a common but striking sight in humid cloud forests and clearings. Adaptable and resilient, it frequents both pristine and secondary habitats, moving seasonally with flower availability along elevational gradients.
Male Description:
The male has metallic bronzy-green upperparts and underparts, a dark tail with bronze gloss, and a faint rufous wash on the rump and undertail. The bill is long, straight, and black. In certain light, the plumage shimmers with golden-bronze reflections, giving the bird a warm, earthy glow.
Female Description:
The female resembles the male but is duller overall, with a lighter bronze tone on the upperparts and slightly grayish underparts. Her plumage may show subtle buffy spotting on the throat.
Habitat & Behavior:
This species inhabits humid montane and cloud forests, forest borders, and flower-rich clearings, typically between 1,200 and 3,400 meters. It feeds on nectar from Fuchsia, Bomarea, and Palicourea, and supplements its diet with small insects. The Bronzy Inca often perches quietly on shaded branches between feeding bouts and occasionally joins mixed hummingbird assemblages near flowering trees.
Conservation Note:
The Bronzy Inca is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and remains widespread and locally common across the Andes. Its adaptability to secondary growth and fragmented forests supports its stable population status. Local habitat degradation, particularly deforestation of montane cloud forest, can affect regional populations. Preserving forest corridors and mid-elevation flowering resources ensures the long-term viability of this luminous Heliantheini hummingbird.
Below is the Bronzy Inca (Coeligena coeligena coeligena)
Photographed at Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco, Caldas, Colombia
This individual belongs to the nominate subspecies coeligena, which occurs throughout the Andes of Colombia and western Venezuela. It inhabits humid montane forest and cloud forest edge between 1,200 and 3,000 meters, where it visits flowering shrubs, forest gaps, and feeders.
Below is the Bronzy Inca (Coeligena coeligena obscura)
Photographed at Owlet Lodge, Amazonas, Peru
This individual belongs to the subspecies obscura, found in northern Peru from Amazonas south through San Martín and Huánuco. It inhabits humid montane forest and forest edge between 1,800 and 2,800 meters, often at flowering shrubs near forest clearings and ridgelines.
The Peruvian form is slightly darker overall than northern populations, with a deeper bronzy tone and reduced iridescence. Both sexes have the same general pattern, and the species forages methodically through forest edge blooms and shaded clearings.
