Longuemare's Sunangel
Common name: Longuemare's Sunangel
Scientific name: Heliangelus clarisse
Clades: Lesbiini - Coquettes
The Longuemare's Sunangel is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 3.8 to 7.7 g (0.13 to 0.27 oz).
Longuemare's Sunangel has a blackish bill with a straight tail that is shallowly forked. The sexes are similar. Its males have a dusky crown and a shining bronze-green cover above. A narrow blue-green frontlet and a glittering rosy gorget are visible in the correct light, bordered by a white pectoral band below. There are dusky buff spots on the rest of the underparts. Generally, females are less spotted below and have a dull brown throat.
2 subspecies:
H. c. violiceps
Distribution Sierra de Perijá, along Colombia–Venezuela border.H. c. clarisse
Distribution Eastern Andes of Colombia and adjacent western Venezuela
Below is the Longuemare’s Sunangel (Heliangelus clarisse clarisse)
Photographed at Observatorio de Colibríes (Cundinamarca)
This individual belongs to the nominate subspecies clarisse, found throughout the Eastern Andes of Colombia. It is typically associated with humid montane forest, cloud forest edge, and shrubby highland clearings where flowering shrubs provide consistent nectar sources.
Below is the Longuemare’s Sunangel (Heliangelus clarisse violiceps)
Photographed in Cesar, Colombia
This individual belongs to the subspecies violiceps, found in the northeastern Eastern Andes. It is distinguished by deeper violet-blue tones in the crown and gorget compared to the nominate form. Habitat includes shrubby forest edge and high-elevation transitional vegetation.
The gorget reflects a more intense, sapphire-shifted iridescence, especially in frontal light. Overall plumage is similar in structure, but the color impression is darker and more saturated.
