Cadena’s Nectar Bat vs Sparkling Violetear

Hsunycteris cadenai compared with Colibri coruscans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cadena’s Nectar Bat	Sparkling Violetear
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Hsunycteris	Colibri
Species	Hsunycteris cadenai	Colibri coruscans

Evolutionary Relationship

Cadena’s Nectar Bat and Sparkling Violetear share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Cadena’s Nectar Bat

LC — Least Concern

Sparkling Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cadena’s Nectar Bat	Sparkling Violetear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cadena’s Nectar Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

Sparkling Violetear

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Cadena’s Nectar Bat

The Cadena’s Nectar Bat (Hsunycteris cadenai) is a species in the genus Hsunycteris. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador