About Heliangelus clarisse (Longuemare, 1841)
Longuemare's sunangel (Heliangelus clarisse) measures 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) in length and weighs 5.0 to 6.0 g (0.18 to 0.21 oz). It has a short, straight, blackish bill shorter than 2 cm (0.79 in). The adult male of the nominate subspecies H. c. clarisse has a narrow glittering blue-green frontlet just above the bill, a dusky crown, and dark bronzy green upperparts. Its throat and upper breast gorget is glittering rosy, with a white pectoral band below it. The rest of its underparts are dusky buff with round green spots. The inner tail feathers are dark bronzy green, while the outer tail feathers are blackish and occasionally have pale tips. The female has dull brown throat feathers with rufous or bronze green inclusions, and its belly has less spotting than the male's. Juveniles have plumage identical to that of the adult female. Male H. c. violiceps have a strongly blue frontlet and a purple gorget. Female H. c. violiceps have a dull frontlet; their dull brown throat patch is smaller than that of the nominate subspecies, and a band of dark green separates the throat patch from the white pectoral band. Male H. c. verdiscutus have an emerald green frontlet, a deep bronzy purple crown, and a dark line along the upper edge of the gorget. Female H. c. verdiscutus have the same dark line, and a smaller gorget than the nominate subspecies with a dark green border. The nominate subspecies H. c. clarisse is found in Colombia's Eastern Andes and adjacent western Venezuela. H. c. violiceps is found further north, in Serranía del Perijá, which forms the border between Colombia and Venezuela. H. c. verdiscutus is restricted to the Tamá Massif, an extension of Colombia's eastern Andes on the border with Venezuela. Longuemare's sunangel primarily inhabits the edges of humid cloudforest and elfin forest. It can also occur in more open landscapes, including fields with scattered bushes and trees, open woodland, overgrown ravines, and páramo. Its elevation range is 1,800 to 3,600 m (5,900 to 11,800 ft).
