Andean Emerald

In Ecuador, the Andean Emerald is found on both slopes of the Andes, especially in western montane forests from southwestern Colombia to Loja Province, typically between 600 and 2,000 meters. It is a year-round resident and generally fairly common in forest edges, gardens, and scrubby clearings, despite a slow population decline linked to habitat loss; the IUCN currently lists it as Least Concern. This solitary nectarivore favors flowering shrubs and trees, often joining mixed-species feeding assemblies, and supplements its diet with small arthropods. Males display a glittering violet-blue crown and emerald-green plumage, while females are slightly duller, and breeding occurs in mossy cup nests placed in dense vegetation during the rainy season.