Appearance
The violet-crowned hummingbird is 10 to 11.5 cm long and weighs 5.1 to 5.8 g. Both sexes of both subspecies have a bright red bill, sometimes with a black tip. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have an intense violet-blue crown, a bluish violet hindneck, and dull grayish brown to greenish brown back and rump. Their tail is coppery bronze. Their underside from throat to undertail coverts is pure white with light olive green flanks. Adult females are virtually identical, though in general somewhat duller overall. Males of subspecies "R. v. ellioti" are similar to the nominate. However, their crown is more turquoise blue and their tail greenish bronze. Females again are almost identical but duller.Distribution
The violet-crowned hummingbird's subspecies "R. v. ellioti" is the more northern. It is found from southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south into Mexico to Michoacán and Hidalgo and possibly as far as the states of Puebla and México. In Arizona and New Mexico it occurs almost entirely between 1,200 and 1,700 m. In Sonora it occurs between 200 and 1,300 m and extends its elevational range further south. The nominate "A. v. violiceps" is found from extreme eastern and southern Michoacán south into northwestern Oaxaca. In this southern part of its range it is typically found between 200 and 1,400 m but ranges overall from sea level to 2,400 m.Status
The IUCN has assessed the violet-crowned hummingbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and its estimated population of two million mature individuals is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.Habitat
The nominate and the southerly population of "ellioti" inhabit a variety of landscapes including riparian corridors in thorn scrub, deciduous and pine-oak forest, fields, orchards, and urban and suburban parks and gardens.Reproduction
In Arizona and New Mexico the violet-crowned hummingbird breeds from April to September. There it nests mostly in Arizona sycamore. In Mexico it breeds mostly between March and August but individuals have been seen nesting at almost any time of year. Little is known about its nesting habits there. The species' nests themselves vary somewhat depending on available plant material. In general they are cups of soft plant down bound with spiderweb with lichen on the outside. The only known clutches were of two eggs. The incubation length and time to fledging are not known.Food
The violet-crowned hummingbird forages for nectar while hovering; it feeds from a wide variety of flowering plants and shrubs. Where flowers are plentiful it and other hummingbirds appear to feed with little agonistic behavior but where they are scarce this species attempts to defend flower patches from smaller hummingbirds. In addition to nectar, it feeds on small insects by hawking from a perch and also by hover-gleaning from vegetation.References:
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