Alder vs Sparkling Violetear

Alnus glutinosa compared with Colibri coruscans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alder	Sparkling Violetear
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Betulaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Alnus	Colibri
Species	Alnus glutinosa	Colibri coruscans

Conservation Status

Alder

LC — Least Concern

Sparkling Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alder	Sparkling Violetear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alder

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (India, Japan), Europe (6 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Chile).

Sparkling Violetear

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Alder

The Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is a species in the genus Alnus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Sparkling Violetear

A large, brilliant hummingbird of the Andes and high Venezuelan tepuis, sparkling violetears display glittering blue-green plumage with an iridescent violet-blue ear patch and chin that sparkle intensely in sunlight — delivering on their evocative name. Found at elevations of 1,200–3,000 meters across Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in montane forest and scrub. Among the most common Andean hummingbirds, they are highly aggressive and vocal territory defenders at flower patches.