Heliodoxa imperatrix
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The empress brilliant (Heliodoxa imperatrix) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. In the early part of the 20th century the empress brilliant was treated as the only member of genus Eugenia, which was later merged into the present Heliodoxa. The species is monotypic.
Male empress brilliants are 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weigh about 9.3 g (0.33 oz). Females are 12 to 13.5 cm (4.7 to 5.3 in) long and weigh about 8.3 g (0.29 oz). The adult male's forehead, face, and breast are mostly glittering dark green, with a square glittering pale violet patch in the center of the throat. Its crown and nape are dark green and the rest of the upperparts dark bronzy green. Its belly is glittering golden green. The central tail feathers are dark bronze and the rest longer and black with a bronze gloss. The adult female's upperparts are bronzy green. The center of its throat and breast are grayish with much bronzy green flecking, the flanks solid bronzy green, and the belly golden green. The central tail feathers are bronzy green and the others dull black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Empress Brilliant sighting in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park on a given day, based on 1,951 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 542 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March, September and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report an Empress Brilliant in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park on a given day, against about 40% in May–June, October and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Empress Brilliant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Farallones de Cali National Natural Park, in our data
Farallones de Cali National Natural Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Empress Brilliant sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Heliodoxa
The closest relatives of the Empress Brilliant that you can see in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (genus Heliodoxa, Brilliants) are Fawn-breasted Brilliant (about 10%) and Green-crowned Brilliant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Empress Brilliant is recorded against all the birds logged in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (1,951 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.
