The Sparkling Violetear (*Colibri coruscans*) is a large, robust, and dazzlingly beautiful hummingbird widely distributed across the Andes and adjacent highlands of South America, ranging from Venezuela and Colombia south through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and into northwestern Argentina, where it is one of the most commonly encountered hummingbirds at elevations between 1,500 and 4,000 meters, frequenting forest edges, gardens, shrubby hillsides, and open woodland. It is a predominantly glittering green bird — the entire body suffused with an intense, iridescent emerald and grass-green that flashes and shifts brilliantly in sunlight — making it one of the more spectacular members of an already jewel-like family. Its most distinctive feature is the pair of elongated, vivid violet-blue ear patches that flare out conspicuously from either side of the face, giving the species both its common and scientific names; these iridescent violet-blue feathers can be raised and fanned during territorial displays and courtship, making the bird appear even more dramatic. The chin and upper breast are adorned with a glittering blue-green to violet gorget that adds further iridescent complexity to its plumage. The Sparkling Violetear is a bold and aggressive hummingbird, known for its pugnacious territorial behavior at flowering plants and feeders, readily chasing away other hummingbirds and even larger birds that encroach on its feeding territory. Its song — an endlessly repeated, somewhat harsh and mechanical series of chips and squeaky notes — is a characteristic and often dominant sound of Andean highland mornings, with males perching prominently on exposed branches and singing persistently for hours on end.
