Female © Neil Diaz
Male © Neil Diaz

Golden-bellied Starfrontlet Coeligena bonapartei

Sign in to see your badges

Identification

POWERED BY MERLIN

Large, long-billed hummingbird restricted to the eastern Andes of Colombia, where it inhabits high elevation cloud forest. Both sexes are clad in iridescent green and gold plumage. Similar to Blue-throated Starfrontlet; male is distinguished by his golden (not purple) belly; female lacks violet on flanks and has a bronzy (not bluish) rump. Prefers long, tubular flowers where often seen feeding nearly vertically, and occasionally visits feeders. Birds from the Perijá Mountains and the Venezuelan Andes are now considered to be separate species, Perija Starfrontlet and Merida Starfrontlet respectively.

POWERED BY MERLIN