Green-crowned Plovercrest
Stephanoxis lalandi
The green-crowned plovercrest is 8.5 to 9 cm (3.3 to 3.5 in) long. Males weigh 3 to 3.4 g (0.11 to 0.12 oz) and females about 2.2 g (0.078 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black bill. Adult males have a shaggy, mostly iridescent green, crest whose longest feather is purplish black. Their face is gray with a white spot behind the eye. Their upperparts are shining bronze-green. Their chin to upper belly is violet-blue and the rest of the underparts are gray. Their central tail feathers are green and the rest green with a blackish band near the end and grayish white tips. Voice: The male green-crowned plovercrest's song is "a long series of a repeated modulated note, 'tsi-ling...tsi-ling...tsi-ling...'", which typically starts with "a high-pitched 'tsee'."
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Purple-crowned Plovercrest
Stephanoxis loddigesii
The purple-crowned plovercrest is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Males weigh about 3.7 g (0.13 oz). Both sexes have a shortish, straight, black bill. Adult males have a shaggy violet-blue crest. Their face, chin, and throat are brownish with a white spot behind the eye. Their upperparts yellowish green. Their lower throat to upper belly is blackish violet-blue and the rest of the underparts are gray. Their central two pairs of tail feathers are green and the rest green with a blackish band near the end and whitish tips. Adult females and juveniles have a much smaller crest. Voice: Males sing "a complex, modulated vocalization" at leks and when chasing other plovercrests.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Green-crowned Plovercrest and Purple-crowned Plovercrest.