Bird Guide

Amethyst-throated Sunangel vs Gorgeted Sunangel

Amethyst-throated Sunangel (Heliangelus amethysticollis)

Amethyst-throated Sunangel

Heliangelus amethysticollis

Tiny5 gForest

The amethyst-throated sunangel, as defined by the IOC, is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 3.8 to 7.7 g (0.13 to 0.27 oz). The species has a straight, rather short, black bill. The adult male of nominate subspecies H. a. amethysticollis has shiny dark green upperparts with a bright green frontlet just above the bill. Its throat and upper breast gorget is rosy amethyst. That area has a narrow black border on the neck and a broader cinnamon band below it. The lower breast is glittery green and the rest of the underparts buff with green discs. Voice: The amethyst-throated sunangel's call is "a short, buzzy, dry trill...repeated at intervals."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Amethyst-throated Sunangel
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: Reserva Tapichalaca, near Q. Cristopher Parson, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Francisco Enríquez/NBII Image Gallery · Public domain
Gorgeted Sunangel (Heliangelus strophianus)

Gorgeted Sunangel

Heliangelus strophianus

Tiny6 gForest

The gorgeted sunangel is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long and weighs about 5.3 g (0.19 oz). Its bill is short, blackish, and straight. The species is sexually dimorphic, but only slightly. Both sexes are dark velvety green above with a small white postocular spot and a dark steel-blue tail. Their lower underparts are dark green with dark gray speckles towards the rear. The male has a small glittering green frontlet just above the bill. Its throat and upper breast gorget is glittering rose to violet and has a white pectoral band below it. Voice: The gorgeted sunangel's song is "a repeated series of 2–3 high-pitched 'pseee' notes...followed by a slightly lower-pitched 'tsip' note." Its call is "a dry chattering followed by a mellow note 'kr..krr..krr..whee..'" and it also makes a high-pitched twitter.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alina Martin · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Amethyst-throated Sunangel and Gorgeted Sunangel.