Return of Bird of the Week: Velvet-purple Coronet
From the back, the male Velvet Purple Coronet is interesting.
Velvet-purple Coronet, West Andes, Ecuador
(These photos are from 2009, when WC was shooting with an Olympus E-3, a camera that was purely incapable of achieving sharp focus. Maddening. So the images aren’t as crisp as WC might like.)
But from the front, the male Velvet-purple Coronet is spectacular.
Velvet-purple Coronet, West Andes, Ecuador
In addition to their sometimes spectacular colors, some hummingbirds have wonderful names. Like “Coronet.”
The species has a limited range, in the cloud forests on the Pacific slopes of the Andes in Columbia and Ecuador, in a narrow band in the middle altitudes.
Though unique enough in plumage, the Velvet-purple Coronet has the curious habit of holding its wings straight up for a brief moment after perching, showing its chestnut axillaries. WC hopes to get a photo of that behavior someday. This species is attracted to hummingbird feeders, but can also be seen foraging on flowers at or near the canopy of primary forest, tall secondary forest, and forest edges.
Velvet-purple Coronet, Chocò Region, Ecuador
Despite the comparatively small range, the IUCN rates the species as Least Concern, because much of its habitat is well protected, especially in Ecuador, and its population seems stable.
At the hummingbird feeders at Tandayapa Lodge, in the Andean cloud forests, it’s always fun to be there when newly arrived birders put their binos on a male Velvet-purple Coronet for the first time; there is always a gasp. Every time.
For more bird photographs, please visit Frozen Feather Images.