Collared Inca

In Ecuador, the Collared Inca is a striking highland hummingbird found on both slopes of the Andes, typically between 1,800 and 3,400 meters, where it frequents humid cloud forests and forest edges. It is a year-round resident and fairly common throughout its range, with local subspecies such as C. t. fulgidigula on the west slope showing subtle plumage differences; the species is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN despite a slow population decline due to forest loss. This solitary nectar-feeder specializes in deep tubular flowers, especially bromeliads, and supplements its diet with small arthropods gleaned from foliage. Agile and deliberate in flight, it plays a key role as a pollinator in the misty montane ecosystems it inhabits.