Diamante Emperador
Empress Brilliant
Heliodoxa imperatrix
Song
Empress Brilliant
Appearance: The Empress Brilliant is a large, impressive hummingbird, around 14–15 cm long. It has a long straight bill, metallic green upperparts, and a shining green body. The male is especially bright, with glittering green underparts and a bluish or violet-blue throat/chest area depending on the light. The tail is relatively long; the central tail feathers are bronzy green, while the outer tail feathers are darker with a bronze gloss. Young birds are duller, with more bronzy-green tones and buffy areas on the chin and throat.
Habitat: It is a hummingbird of the Chocó biogeographic region, especially very wet forests on the Pacific slope of the Andes. It lives in foothill forest, cloud forest, forest interior, forest edges, and mature secondary forest. In Colombia, it is most associated with humid subtropical and montane forest on the western slope.
Behavior: The Empress Brilliant feeds mainly on nectar, especially from flowers in wet forest and forest-edge habitats. Like other brilliants, it also takes small insects and arthropods for protein. It is usually seen singly and may forage inside forest, along edges, or in mature second growth. Its behavior is not as well documented as that of some common hummingbirds, but it is generally considered a forest-associated species rather than a bird of open dry habitats.
Breeding: Nesting has been studied in western Colombia. The breeding season there lasts roughly from February to July. The young remain in the nest about 22–25 days. As in other hummingbirds, the female builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and feeds the chicks.
Conservation Status: The Empress Brilliant is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
MALE
FEMALE
Distribution
The Empress Brilliant is restricted to the Pacific slope of the western Andes, especially the Chocó region. Its range extends from Colombia’s Chocó Department southward into Nariño.
Taxonomy
The Empress Brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Caprimulgiformes
- Family: Trochilidae
- Genus: Heliodoxa
- Species: imperatrix
Vocalization
Main Call: A repeated, single “tsit” note. This note may be repeated several times. It can also be given as a single note while the bird is hovering or feeding.
Feeding Call: The Empress Brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix) is a very short, thin, sharp note.
Flight Call: The Empress Brilliant may give short, high notes while moving between flowers or forest perches.
Aggressive Calls: During interactions around nectar sources, it may give sharper repeated chips, but detailed descriptions are limited.
