Sparkling Violetear

The sparkling violetear is the largest violetear at 13 to 14 cm (5 to 5.5 in) long. Male birds weigh 5.8 to 8.5 g (0.20 to 0.30 oz) and females 6 to 7.5 g (0.21 to 0.26 oz). The nominate male's upperparts are metallic bluish green, the chin bluish violet, the belly blue, and the rest of the underparts green. Long erectile bluish violet plumes cover the ears. The tail is metallic green with a steely blue band near the end. Females are similar but smaller, and often have a white spot behind the eye. C. c. germanus is essentially the same as the nominate but the forehead, underparts, and tail are somewhat bluer.

The nominate subspecies of sparkling violetear is widely distributed. It is found in Venezuela's Sierra de Perijá, Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the Andes from Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. C. c. germanus is found on the tepuis of southern Venezuela, western Guyana, and the adjacent Brazilian state of Roraima. The species inhabits a variety of open landscapes including the edges of subtropical and temperate forest, woodland, gardens, city parks, and páramo. In elevation it mostly ranges from 1,000 to 4,500 m (3,300 to 14,800 ft).

The sparkling violetear forages for nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants at all levels of the forest from the ground to the canopy. It also captures insects on the wing. It is very aggressive in most habitats, dominating all other hummingbirds while defending flowering trees, but aggression has not been observed in the páramo.