Bird Guide

Great Sapphirewing vs Violet-fronted Brilliant

Great Sapphirewing (Pterophanes cyanopterus)

Great Sapphirewing

Pterophanes cyanopterus

Tiny9 gForest

The great sapphirewing is one of the largest hummingbirds; only the two of genus Topaza and the giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) are larger. It is 15.5 to 19 cm (6.1 to 7.5 in) long including the 3.6 cm (1.4 in) bill. Males weigh between 9.6 and 11.2 g (0.34 and 0.40 oz) and females 8.4 to 11 g (0.30 to 0.39 oz). Both sexes have a small white spot behind the eye. Males of the nominate subspecies have dark shining blue-green upperparts. The wing is mostly shining blue and the tail greenish black. The underparts are also blue-green but somewhat bluer than the upperparts. Voice: The great sapphirewing's vocalizations include "a high, thin, liquid chatter", a "drawn-out piercing high-pitched zeee", and " agitated titititirrr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Great Sapphirewing
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Pichincha: Yanacocha, Volcán Pichincha, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Giovanni Bermúdez Bohórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Giovanni Bermúdez Bohórquez · cc-by
Violet-fronted Brilliant (Heliodoxa leadbeateri)

Violet-fronted Brilliant

Heliodoxa leadbeateri

Tiny7 gForest

The violet-fronted brilliant is 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh 7.1 to 8.5 g (0.25 to 0.30 oz) and females 6.6 to 7.5 g (0.23 to 0.26 oz). Both sexes have a medium length, almost straight, black bill, a white malar streak, and a small white spot behind the eye. They both have a forked tail but the female's is less deeply indented than the male's. Males of the nominate subspecies have bronzy green upperparts with a glittering blue forehead and a coppery neck. They have a glittering emerald green gorget and a dull bronzy green breast and belly. Voice: What is thought to be the violet-brilliant's song is "a continuous series of single strident 'chup' or 'tchep' notes". It also makes "a repeated, bright, descending phrase 'whee-tsee-tsee-tsew' that sounds like a jerky twittering."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ana Agreda, Aves y Conservación · Public domain

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Great Sapphirewing and Violet-fronted Brilliant.