Purple-throated Sunangel

Heliangelus viola Gould, 1853

Spanish: Colibrí Violeta

The Purple-throated Sunangel (Heliangelus viola) is a hummingbird in the subfamily Lesbiinae (coquettes and brilliants), tribe Lesbiini (coquettes). It weighs about 5.4 g and its bill is 19.3 mm long. It lives in Ecuador and Peru. Its IUCN Red List status is Least concern, with a decreasing population.

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At a glance

Weight

5.4 g, about 5 paperclips

Bill

19.3 mm

Lives in

Forest

Moves

Stays put all year

Red List status

Least concern, decreasing

Its place in the family

1. Family Trochilidae hummingbirds
2. Subfamily Lesbiinae coquettes and brilliants
3. Tribe Lesbiini coquettes
4. Genus Heliangelus sunangels

What Heliangelus share: Most males have a glittering throat patch (gorget).

Where it lives · 2 countries

• Ecuador
• Peru

Others in the genus Heliangelus

• Little Sunangel Heliangelus micraster
• Royal Sunangel Heliangelus regalis
• Tourmaline Sunangel Heliangelus exortis
• Gorgeted Sunangel Heliangelus strophianus
• Amethyst-throated Sunangel Heliangelus amethysticollis
• Merida Sunangel Heliangelus spencei
• Longuemare's Sunangel Heliangelus clarisse
• Orange-throated Sunangel Heliangelus mavors

Sources

Names: eBird/Clements Checklist (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). Groups: Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and McGuire et al. (2014). Weight, bill, habitat and movement: AVONET (Tobias et al. 2022, CC BY 4.0). Countries: BirdLife International DataZone, checked against eBird records via GBIF. Red List status and trend: BirdLife International, the IUCN Red List authority for birds.

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