Brown Violetear
Colibri delphinae
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyTrochilidae (Hummingbirds)
- GenusColibri
- SpeciesColibri delphinae (Brown Violetear)
The brown violetear (Colibri delphinae) is a large hummingbird that breeds at middle elevations in the mountains in Central America, and western and northern South America (primarily the Andes and the tepuis) with isolated populations on Trinidad and in the Brazilian state Bahia. The breeding habitat is forest at altitudes between 400 and 1600 m, but the brown Violet-ear will spread widely into the lowlands when not nesting. It is replaced at higher altitudes by its relative, the lesser violetear (C. cyanotus), but their ranges overlap widely. The brown violetear is typically found high in the canopy of the rainforest, tall second growth and coffee plantations, but it will feed at lower levels at edges and clearings. The nest is a small cup of plant down saddled on a twig 1–3 m. high in a bush, into which two white eggs are laid. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Violetear sighting in Puracé National Natural Park, based on 19 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Puracé National Natural Park
Sparkling Violetear
Colibri coruscans
Lesser Violetear
Colibri cyanotus
Tyrian Metaltail
Metallura tyrianthina
Green-tailed Trainbearer
Lesbia nuna
Red-billed Emerald
Chlorostilbon gibsoni
Speckled Hummingbird
Adelomyia melanogenys
Tourmaline Sunangel
Heliangelus exortis
Long-tailed Sylph
Aglaiocercus kingii
Viridian Metaltail
Metallura williami
Buff-winged Starfrontlet
Coeligena lutetiae
White-bellied Woodstar
Chaetocercus mulsant
Collared Inca
Coeligena torquata
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Brown Violetear in Puracé National Natural Park?
About 2% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Violetear sighting in Puracé National Natural Park, based on 19 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Brown Violetear in Puracé National Natural Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Brown Violetear in Puracé National Natural Park in our monthly data.