Black-hooded Sunbeam

The black-hooded sunbeam is about 12 cm (4.7 in) long including its 15 mm (0.59 in) straight black bill. Males weigh about 5.2 g (0.18 oz) and females 5.8 g (0.20 oz). The adult male is mostly purplish black, with glittering golden green to bluish green on the lower back and rump and a white tuft in the center of the breast. The tail is rufous with dusky tips to the feathers. Adult females are colored like the male but are duller overall and with less iridescent lower back and rump. Juveniles are somewhat browner than adults, with a reduced breast tuft and an olive cast to the tail.

The black-hooded sunbeam is found only in the Andes of northern Bolivia, mainly in the departments of La Paz and Cochabamba. In elevation it mostly ranges between 2,500 and 4,200 m (8,200 and 13,800 ft) but there are records as low as 1,800 m (5,900 ft). It inhabits cloud forest and humid to semihumid montane scrublands.

The black-hooded sunbeam feeds primarily on nectar; it forages at all levels and clings to flowers to feed rather than hovering. It also feeds on small arthropods.