About Coeligena iris (Gould, 1853)
The rainbow starfrontlet (scientific name Coeligena iris (Gould, 1853)) is 12.5 to 14 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in) long. Males weigh 6.7 to 8.8 g (0.24 to 0.31 oz), while females weigh 6 to 8.1 g (0.21 to 0.29 oz). Both sexes have a long, straight, black bill; the female's bill is somewhat longer than the male's. Both sexes also have a white spot behind the eye and a forked tail, with the male's tail more deeply indented than the female's. The species' subspecies differ significantly in plumage. Males of the nominate subspecies (C. i. iris) have a glittering yellow-green forecrown that transitions through golden yellow to blue on the crown. Most of their upperparts are blackish with a green sheen, and the lower back and rump are chestnut. Their throat and chest are glittering emerald green, with a small violet spot on the throat. The belly, undertail coverts, and tail are chestnut. Nominate females are generally similar to males but have less of a metallic sheen, and juveniles are similar to adult females. Males of subspecies C. i. hesperus have a dark golden-red crown with a blue stripe, a golden green back, green underparts with a violet throat spot, and bronzy tips on the chestnut tail feathers; females of this subspecies are a duller version of the male. Males of C. i. aurora have a turquoise crown with golden-tipped feathers, a black hindneck, and light chestnut upperparts. Their chin and throat are turquoise, and the rest of their underparts are light chestnut; females are a duller version of the male. C. i. flagrans is similar to the nominate subspecies but has a coppery hindneck and back. C. i. fulgidiceps is also similar to the nominate but has a blackish neck and upper back, and darker chestnut underparts. Males of C. i. eva have a yellowish green forecrown, a dark violet crown, and a coppery hindneck and back. Their chin, throat, and breast are emerald green, and the rest of their underparts are chestnut. Unlike the other subspecies, they do not have a violet throat patch. The female of C. i. eva has a coppery green head and lighter underparts than the male. The six subspecies of rainbow starfrontlet have the following distributions: C. i. hesperus is found in Chimborazo and Azuay provinces of southwestern Ecuador; C. i. iris ranges from Azuay Province in Ecuador into the Department of Piura in northern Peru; C. i. aurora occurs in central and eastern Cajamarca Department in northwestern Peru; C. i. flagrans lives on the western slope of the western Andes in Cajamarca Department, Peru; C. i. eva is found on the eastern slope of northern Peru's western Andes, west of the Marañón River; C. i. fulgidiceps occurs in Peru east of the Marañón River, in southern Amazonas Department. The rainbow starfrontlet inhabits humid and semi-humid cloudforest edges, gardens, and riparian scrub. It generally occurs at elevations ranging from 1,700 to 3,300 m (5,600 to 10,800 ft), but has been recorded as high as 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in Huascarán National Park, northern Peru.
