Colibri delphinae
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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.
The 11.5 cm long, 6.5-7 g weight brown violetear is unmistakable; it is mainly dull brown, with a rufous rump and greyer underparts. There is a violet patch running back and down from the eye, a hermit-like malar stripe, and a glittering green and blue throat stripe. The bill is relatively short and almost straight.
The female is similar to the male, but has a smaller throat patch. Immature bird have rufous fringes to the upperpart plumage, and little or no violet behind the eyes. The song is a vigorous repetition of the chit call, and is delivered by up to several dozen breeding males in loose leks.
The brown violetear feeds on nectar from small flowers of trees, shrubs and epiphytes. It also takes insects, often caught in flight (hawking), as an essential source of protein. Although not particularly territorial, this species is highly aggressive, and at feeders seems to spend far more time attacking other hummingbirds than actually feeding. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 10 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 11 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 16 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 17 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 18 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Violetear sighting in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 126th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Violetear in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Violetear sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 18
Of the 18 parks where we can rate Brown Violetear sightings, Chapada Diamantina National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (Colombia, about 60%), Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Chirripó National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Violetear is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada Diamantina National Park (66 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
