Velvet-browed Brilliant

About the Velvet-browed Brilliant

The velvet-browed brilliant (Heliodoxa xanthogonys) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. The velvet-browed brilliant has two subspecies, the nominate H. x. xanthogonys and H. x. williardi.

The velvet-browed brilliant is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long including its approximately 2 cm (0.8 in) bill, and weighs 5.5 to 7.5 g (0.19 to 0.26 oz). Both sexes have a straight bill; the maxilla is blackish and the mandible orange with a dark tip. Both have a small white spot behind the eye.

Males of the nominate subspecies have a glittering golden- to emerald green central crown and a velvety blackish supercilium. The rest of the face, the hindneck, and the upperparts are dark golden green. The upper throat has a glittering violet-blue patch, the breast and belly are dark golden green, and the undertail coverts are greenish with narrow gray and rufous edges. The uppertail coverts and central tail feathers are bronze- to emerald green and the rest of the tail blackish green. Females are generally duller, with less iridescence, and do... Wikipedia →