Violet-capped Woodnymph

Violet-capped Woodnymph

Thalurania glaucopis

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Itatiaia National Park

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

1,167 Verified sightings at Itatiaia National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,466 In all 7 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Violet-capped Woodnymph

The violet-capped woodnymph (Thalurania glaucopis) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The violet-capped woodnymph was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus and coined the binomial name Trochilus glaucopis. Gmelin based his description on "L'oiseau-mouche à queue fourchue du Brésil" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson from a preserved specimen that had been sent to Paris from Brazil. The violet-capped woodnymph is now placed with three other woodnymphs in the genus Thalurania that was introduced in 1848 by the English ornithologist John Gould. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek thalos meaning "child" with ouranos meaning "heaven". The specific epithet glaucopis is from the Ancient Greek glaukos meaning "blue-grey" or "glaucous" with ōps meaning "face". The species is treated as monotypic: no subspecies... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:24

Argentina · 2026

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC1135486 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:25

Brazil · 2022

© Marcelo da Rocha · XC735990 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:11

Brazil · 2019

© Fernando Igor de Godoy · XC705635 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
3 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
4 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
5 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
6 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
7 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 Santos 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
6 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
7 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Parque das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Violet-capped Woodnymph in Itatiaia National Park?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Violet-capped Woodnymph sighting in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, based on 1,167 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 352 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.

When is the best time to see a Violet-capped Woodnymph in Itatiaia National Park?

June

In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Violet-capped Woodnymph in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, against about 40% in January–February and May, the lowest months. That is one of Itatiaia National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 330 mm in December.

What time of day is best to see a Violet-capped Woodnymph?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet-capped Woodnymph sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Itatiaia National Park the best place to see a Violet-capped Woodnymph?

2nd of 7

Of the 7 parks where we can rate Violet-capped Woodnymph sightings, Itatiaia National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 70%). All parks ranked.

Which relatives of the Violet-capped Woodnymph live in Itatiaia National Park?

Same family: Trochilidae

The closest relatives of the Violet-capped Woodnymph that you can see in Itatiaia National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Brazilian Ruby (about 60%), Scale-throated Hermit (about 40%) and White-throated Hummingbird (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Violet-capped Woodnymph sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Violet-capped Woodnymph is recorded against all the birds logged in Itatiaia National Park (1,167 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.

← Back to Itatiaia National Park