About Heliangelus strophianus (Gould, 1846)
The gorgeted sunangel (scientific name Heliangelus strophianus (Gould, 1846)) measures 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) in length and weighs approximately 5.3 g (0.19 oz). It has a short, straight, blackish bill. The species shows slight sexual dimorphism. Both sexes have dark velvety green upperparts, a small white spot behind the eye, and a dark steel-blue tail. Their lower underparts are dark green, with dark gray speckles on the rearmost portion. Males have a small glittering green frontlet just above the bill. Their throat and upper breast gorget is glittering rose to violet, with a white pectoral band below the gorget. Females have dark gray-brown chins, with white fringes on the chin feathers; they occasionally also have some glittering rosy feathers on the chin. Juveniles resemble adult females, but have a narrower white pectoral band. The gorgeted sunangel ranges from far southwestern Colombia’s Nariño Department south through much of western Ecuador in a discontinuous distribution. It primarily lives in humid to wet premontane forest, but also occurs in shrubby forest borders and thickets. Within forested areas, it prefers damp ravines. Its elevation range spans 1,200 to 2,800 m (3,900 to 9,200 ft), though it is rare at the upper end of this range.
