Purple-crowned Plovercrest

The purple-crowned plovercrest is 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) long. Males weigh about 3.7 g (0.13 oz). Both sexes have a shortish, straight, black bill. Adult males have a shaggy violet-blue crest. Their face, chin, and throat are brownish with a white spot behind the eye. Their upperparts yellowish green. Their lower throat to upper belly is blackish violet-blue and the rest of the underparts are gray. Their central two pairs of tail feathers are green and the rest green with a blackish band near the end and whitish tips. Adult females and juveniles have a much smaller crest. Their upperparts are also yellowish green and their underparts gray.

The purple-crowned plovercrest is found in eastern Paraguay, far northeastern Argentina, and southern Brazil as far north as southern São Paulo state. It inhabits the understory of forest, scrublands, and vegetation along watercourses. In elevation it ranges between sea level and about 900 m (3,000 ft).

The purple-crowned plovercrest forages for nectar from near the ground to the canopy, utilizing both native and introduced flowering species. Males defend feeding territories during the breeding season. In addition to nectar, the species feeds on insects caught in flight or gleaned from leaves.