Royal Sunangel "Elfin-forest King"

[Donkees]

The Royal Sunangel is known only from a narrow, disjunct range in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. It belongs to an interesting sub-group of hummingbirds named for the mountains where they live.

The Royal Sunangel is part of a sub-group of hummingbirds known informally as the “Andean clade.” The hummingbirds of this group, which includes six other sunangel species as well as the Booted Racket-tail and Rainbow Starfrontlet, share common features that include similarities in nest construction, courtship behavior, vocalizations, and also the way these species briefly open their wings just after alighting on a perch.



The Royal Sunangel is most often sighted on sandy ridgetops in and near humid "elfin" forest and shrubby areas. These montane habitats sit between 4,400 and 7,200 feet high on the eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. In this misty environment, trees and shrubs are often encrusted with moss and lichen. The Royal Sunangel has also been found living on the sides of steep, wooded ravines.

https://abcbirds.org/bird/royal-sunangel/