Green-crowned Brilliant

The Green-crowned Brilliant is a striking hummingbird found year-round in Ecuador’s humid montane forests, especially on the western Andean slope between roughly 400 and 1,600 meters. It is locally common in forest interiors, edges, and gardens with abundant flowering plants, where males aggressively defend nectar sources and flash their iridescent green plumage. Globally listed as Least Concern, its population is stable across a broad Neotropical range, including Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica. Breeding occurs from December to May, with females constructing small cup nests and raising the young alone, while both sexes contribute to pollination as they forage on Heliconia, Inga, and Ericaceae blooms.