The sunangels are a genus of hummingbirds, Heliangelus, found in montane South America.
Taxonomy
The genus Heliangelus was introduced in 1848 by the English ornithologist John Gould. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ἡλιος/hēlios meaning "sun" with αγγελος/angelos meaning "angel". Gould did not specify a type species but in 1855 George Gray designated the type as Trochilus clarissae Longuemare which is Ornismya clarisse Longuemare, 1841, Longuemare's sunangel.
The genus contains the following nine species:
Genus Heliangelus – Gould, 1848 – nine species
Common name
Scientific name and subspecies
Range
Size and ecology
IUCN status and estimated population
Orange-throated sunangel
Heliangelus mavors Gould, 1848
Colombia and Venezuela
Size:
Four subspecies
H. a. laticlavius, Salvin (1891)
H. a. decolor, Zimmer, JT (1951)
H. a. apurimacensis, Weller (2009)
H. a. amethysticollis, d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye (1838)
south Ecuador to northwest Bolivia
Size:
Three subspecies
H. c. violiceps Phelps, WH Sr & Phelps, WH Jr, 1953
H. c. verdiscutus Phelps, WH Sr & Phelps, WH Jr, 1955
H. c. clarisse (de Longuemare, G, 1841)
east Colombia and west Venezuela
Size:
