Bird Guide

Gorgeted Sunangel vs Peruvian Sheartail

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
Peruvian Sheartail (Thaumastura cora)

Peruvian Sheartail

Thaumastura cora

Tiny2 gShrubland

The male Peruvian sheartail is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs about 2.5 g (0.088 oz). The female about 7.5 cm (3.0 in) long and weighs about 2.6 g (0.092 oz). It is among the tiniest hummingbirds. Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. Both sexes have metallic green upperparts, including the top of the face, that are darker towards the tail. The female's green has a faint beige tinge. Both sexes have an indistinct white spot behind the eye. Males have an iridescent magenta gorget that appears cyan or black at different angles; the female's throat is cream. Voice: The male Peruvian sheartail's song is "squeaky, incessant, undirected has at least 4 syllables". It is given from a perch or during the shuttle flight and can last a minute or more. Shorter versions are given during agonistic encounters with other males. Both sexes make "a short chip call".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: nmoorhatch · 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: Gorgeted Sunangel and Peruvian Sheartail.