Merida Sunangel vs Tourmaline Sunangel

Heliangelus spencei compared with Heliangelus exortis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Merida Sunangel	Tourmaline Sunangel
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus same	Heliangelus	Heliangelus
Species	Heliangelus spencei	Heliangelus exortis

Evolutionary Relationship

Merida Sunangel and Tourmaline Sunangel share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Heliangelus.

Conservation Status

Merida Sunangel

LC — Least Concern

Tourmaline Sunangel

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Merida Sunangel	Tourmaline Sunangel
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Merida Sunangel

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Venezuela.

Tourmaline Sunangel

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway.

Tourmaline Sunangel

A high-altitude Andean hummingbird named for its warm amber-orange sunangel plumage on the gorget, tourmaline sunangels inhabit páramo grassland, cloud forest, and forest edge in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador at elevations of 2,200–4,100 meters. Males display a glittering orange-coppery to purple gorget depending on light angle. Like all sunangels, they are relatively cold-tolerant for hummingbirds and may lower metabolic rate significantly at night to conserve energy in the cold Andes.