Alectryon vs Sparkling Violetear

Alectryon tropicus compared with Colibri coruscans

Key Differences

• Alectryon is Near Threatened while Sparkling Violetear is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alectryon	Sparkling Violetear
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Sapindaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Alectryon	Colibri
Species	Alectryon tropicus	Colibri coruscans

Conservation Status

Alectryon

NT — Near Threatened

Sparkling Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alectryon

Habitat

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

Sparkling Violetear

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Alectryon

The Alectryon (Alectryon tropicus) is a species in the genus Alectryon. It is currently classified as Near Threatened 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.