Horned Sungem

Heliactin bilophus

Brazilian hummingbird with two vivid horn-like feather tufts above each eye, red, blue, and gold. Genuinely looks horned.

Population: Not quantified numerically by IUCN/BirdLife; described as common with an increasing population trend (suspected increasing due to adaptation to man-made habitats such as gardens/cultivated land)
Habitat: Open and semi-open habitats below ~500 m (occasionally to 1,000 m): cerrado and caatinga savanna, grasslands, dry and moist forest edges, and human-modified areas such as gardens and cultivated land
Fun fact: Adult male Horned Sungems bear iridescent red-gold-green feather tufts ("horns") above each eye combined with a shiny blue crest; the species is the sole member of its genus (Heliactin), is notably aggressive in territorial defense, and is one of the few hummingbirds to have recently expanded its range (aided by deforestation opening new habitat).
Range: East-central South America — central Brazil (from southern Maranhão south to northern São Paulo and west to Mato Grosso, with recent expansion into southern Amazonas and Espírito Santo aided by deforestation), the Santa Cruz department of Bolivia, southern Suriname, and northern Amapá; IUCN extent of occurrence ~6.49 million km²
Diet: Nectarivorous, feeding at a wide variety of flowering plants (e.g. Palicourea rigida, Bauhinia tenella, Cuphea linarioides); also engages in nectar-robbing via a stiletto-shaped bill adaptation when corolla shape doesn't match its short bill; supplements diet with small insects taken in flight or from vegetation
Size: 0.1 m

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