Tyrian Metaltail

A small, brilliantly colored hummingbird of Andean cloud forests and páramo from Venezuela south to Bolivia, tyrian metaltails have deep purple-magenta gorgets and metallic reddish-purple tails. They inhabit elevations from 2,500 to 4,500 meters, hovering at flowering shrubs and herbs of the páramo. Males defend territories around nectar-rich flower patches. Among the highest-altitude hummingbirds, they are physiologically adapted to thin, cold high-Andean air.