Velvet-purple Coronet

Common name: Velvet-purple Coronet
Scientific name: Boissonneaua jardini
Clades: Heliantheini - Brilliants

The Velvet-purple coronet is 11 to 12.7 cm (4.3 to 5.0 in) long and weighs 8.0 to 8.5 g (0.28 to 0.30 oz).

A Velvet-purple Coronet is a stunning, large hummingbird. With a black hood and an iridescent blue-purple body with green coverts and large white patches on the outer rectrices, the Velvet-purple Coronet appears all dark in low light, but it glows magnificently in good lighting. After perching, the Velvet-purple Coronet will hold its wings straight up for a brief moment, showing its chestnut axillaries. Hummingbird feeders attract this species, but it also forages on flowers near the primary forest canopy, secondary forest canopy, and forest edges.

Distribution Pacific slope of W Andes in SW Colombia (Cerro Tatamá, in S Chocó, S to Nariño) and NW Ecuador (Pichincha).