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The world has many beautiful coloured birds, from the brightest oranges to the deepest reds. In this article we will be looking at 15 different green and purple coloured birds. We will use images to help with identification along with measurements and information on where you are likely to find them, habitat and diet.
A list of 15 species of green and purple birds; (All shown species are males)
- Violet bellied hummingbird
- Costa’s Hummingbird
- Purple throated Mountaingem
- Antillean crested hummingbird
- Fork tailed woodnymph
- Violet sabrewing
- Violet crowned woodnymph
- Purple-Throated Woodstar
- Purple-crested Turaco
- Purple-bearded Bee-eater
- Grey headed swamphen
- Purple Gallinule
- Violet green swallow
- Splendid sunbird
- Purple starling
1. Violet bellied hummingbird (Scientific name – Damophila Julie)
The Violet bellied Hummingbird is the first on our list of green and purple birds. This is a tiny bird and as seen in the image above has the most wonderful iridescent colours. Mainly emerald green with a violet belly which changes from purple to blue depending on the light.
| Measurements | Length – 7.5 – 8-5 cm Weight – 3.4g |
| Native to | Columbia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru |
| Habitat | Both dry and humid forests and forest edges |
| Diet | Omnivorous, as know to eat arthropods as well as nectar |
Range map for the Violet bellied hummingbird
2. Costa’s Hummingbird (Scientific name – Calypte Costae)
The Coata’s hummingbird is our second on our list of green and purple birds. This lovely little bird is even smaller than the previous hummingbird and looks like it too, probably due to their tail being so short. Even so they are still a super little bird mainly green again with a purple gorget around its throat which glistens in the light.
| Measurements | Length – 7.6 – 8 cm Wingspan – 11cms Weight – 2-3g |
| Native to | South West US, Mexico, Southern California |
| Habitat | Scrub area of warm desert |
| Diet | Omnivore (nectar & small insects) |
Range map for the Costa’s Hummingbird
3. Purple – throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis calolaemus)
The third purple and green bird on our list is the purple-throated mountain-gem As you can see from the above image these beautiful birds have a bright purple throat as suggested by its name, and a irredescent green head. The rest of their plumage is mainly green.
| Measurements | Length – 10 – 11 cm Weight – 4.8g – 6g |
| Native to | Central America – Northern Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua |
| Habitat | Humid evergreen forest and cloud forests |
| Diet | Mainly nectar |
Range map for the Purple – throated Mountain – gem
4. Antillean crested hummingbird (Scientific name Orthorhyncus cristatus)
Number four on the list of green and purple birds is the Antillean crested hummingbird and as its name suggests this is a crested hummingbird. The image above shows the bird has a dark purple appearance and green with a flash of iridescent green on the crest, however like with most hummingbirds they can appear differently coloured in different light and therefore the colour of this bird can differ from what you see above to almost a sooty black colour or a purple / brown. The bird’s crest can be up and spiky as above or they can also flatten it much like a shield as in the picture below.
| Measurements | Length – 8-9 cm Weight – 3-4.5g |
| Native to | Caribbean Islands |
| Habitat | Tropical and sub – tropical forests, Shrubland, gardens |
| Diet | Omnivorous, as know to eat arthropods as well as nectar |
Range map of the Antillean crested hummingbird
5. Fork-tailed woodnymph (Scientific name – Thalurania furcata)
The fork-tailed woodnymph is number five on our list of green and purple birds. Although this bird is called a woodnymph it’s of the hummingbird family. As with most hummingbirds this one is very colourful. It has a darker green head with an iridescent green throat and a beautiful purple underbelly and a band on their backs. They also have Blue / black of their forked tail as you can see from the above image. The light has an effect on how most of these birds are seen, as far as colour. Obviously the more sunlight or sunshine the more vibrant they appear.
| Measurements | Length – 9-12.9 cm Weight – 3.6 – 6g |
| Native to | South America |
| Habitat | Tropical & subtropical moist lowland forests |
| Diet | Mainly nectar |
Range map of the Fork tailed woodnymph
6. Violet sabrewing (scientific name – Campylopterus hemileucurus)
The beautiful bird shown above is the Violet sabrewing and is number six on our list of green and purple birds. It is a large species of hummingbird and has, as its name suggests, a gorgeous violet colouring, sometimes seen as blue – purple depending on the light. They have green on their shoulders and base of tail.
| Measurements | Length – 12 -15cm Weight – 9.5-11.5g |
| Native to | Southern Mexico, central America |
| Habitat | Mountainous areas, forests and edges |
| Diet | Nectar |
Range map of the Violet sabrewing
7. Violet crowned woodnymph ( Scientific name – Thalurania colombica)
Number seven on the list of green and purple birds is the Violet crowned woodnymph. The image above illustrates how colourful this little hummingbird is, and you can see why it has been named the violet crowned woodnymph. A wonderful example of a green and purple bird.
| Measurements | Length – 10.2 cmsWeight – 4.5g |
| Native to | Central America to Northern south America |
| Habitat | Evergreen forest, forest edge, tropical lowlands |
| Diet | Nectar, insects, small spiders |
Range map of Violet crowned woodnymph
8. Purple-Throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii )
The purple-throated Woodstar is at number eight. This tiny beautiful little bird has the most brilliant coloured gorget of iridescent violet – purple as seen above. A white band is surrounded by a greeny-bronze colouring on the rest of its plumage. You can see on the image below it has a rather long forked tail and white patches to its rump.
| Measurements | Length – 6.8 – 7.5 cmsWeight – 3 – 3.3g |
| Native to | Colombia & Ecuador, small amount in Panama |
| Habitat | Cloud forests, forest edges |
| Diet | Nectar & flying insects |
Range map of Purple-Throated Woodstar
9. Purple – crested Turaco (Scientific name – Gallirex porphyreolopus)
The Purple – crested Turaco is our number nine on our list of green and purple birds. An unusual looking green and purple bird with its crest of bright purple and green and the red eye ring really do make this bird stand out. The have a light green – pink neck, breast and upper back. The lower back and outwing colour are a blue grey, but as you can see from the image below, when in flight they show the primary and outer secondary feathers are a crimson red with brown edges. Unfortunately these red feathers were very sort after by people in the past who hunted them.
| Measurements | Length – 42 – 46 cmsWeight – 225 – 303g |
| Native to | Southern Eastern Africa |
| Habitat | Woodlands, evergreen forests, thickets, parks & gardens |
| Diet | Frugivorous |
10. Purple-bearded Bee-eater (Scientific name – Meropogon forsteni)
Number ten of our green and purple birds is the purple-bearded bee-eater and Yes this bird has a purple beard, and yes they do eat bees, however it is important to say that they have other airborne insects in their diets too. Now going back to their beard, these are actually long feathers which hang from the throats, almost looking like a beard. The other colours in the plumage consists of green for the wings and tail, apart from the underside which are brownie -red in colour as is the lower belly. An interesting fact about this bird is that like other bee-eaters they nest in burrows in a tunnel of up to 90 cm in cliffs and river banks.
| Measurements | Length – 25-26 cm |
| Native to | Endemic to Sulawesi – Indonesia |
| Habitat | Dense forests |
| Diet | Catches in flight – bees, wasps, dragonflies, beetles |
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11. Grey headed swamphen (Scientific name – Porphyrio poliocephalus)
Another larger bird is Grey headed swamphen as seen in the image above, this is our number eleven on the list of green and purple birds. They have a mixture of green and purple coluring to their feathers, with some blue elements and yes as its name suggests it has a grey colour head. They also have a red frontal shield and bill and red legs.
| Measurements | Length – 38-50cm Wingspan – 35.4 – 39.4 Weight – 505 – 850g |
| Native to | Southern Asia – Middle east, China, Thailand, India and introduced, by escaping captivity, to Southern Florida |
| Habitat | Marshes |
| Diet | Omnivore – Snails, fish, birds, lizards, vegetation |
12. Purple Gallinule (Scientific name – Porphyrio martinica)
At number twelve on the list of green and purple birds, we have the Purple Gallinule, this is another wetland bird. It has beautiful purple, green, and blue plumage as you can see from the above picture. They have a sky blue coloured frontal shield. A red bill with yellow on the end and bright yellow legs and long yellow toes, They also have a white rump which can be observed in the picture above.
| Measurements | Length – 26.5 cm Wingspan – 52.5 cm Weight – 250 – 260g |
| Native to | North America, Central & Southern America and sometime the Caribbean |
| Habitat | Freshwater wetlands, marshes & ponds |
| Diet | Omnivore – Worms, frogs, dragonflies, small fish but mainly vegetation |
13. Violet green swallow (Scientific name – Tachycineta thalassina)
The Violet green swallow is number thirteen on he list of green and purple birds. If you have ever seen a swallow on the move you know that seeing what its colour is will be near impossible. These fast acrobatic birds appear so at home in the sky. Even the prefix of its scientific name mirrors its speed as ‘Tachy’ is latin for swift or accelerated, (Collins online dictionary, 2023). The reason for the speed and acrobatics of the swallow is mainly that they catch their prey and eat it whilst flying. So the manoeuvres you see are them chasing and catching their prey. The English name comes from its colouring of violet and green, which looks iridescent in the sunshine. They have a green head and back with a white face and belly. The violet colouring is mostly on their rumps as you can see from the picture above.
| Measurements | Length – 12cm – 13cm Wingspan – 27cm Weight – 14g |
| Native to | North America, South America |
| Habitat | Woodland, open pastures, lakes & streams, ponds, wetlands, shrublands |
| Diet | Insectivore |
14. Splendid sunbird (Scientific name – Cinnyris coccinigastrus)
Number fourteen on the list of green and purple birds is the very splendid colourful bird, the splendid sunbird which has such a lustrous purple back and metallic green back and shoulders. They have a crimson breast and a black belly. Its bill is fairly long and turned down.
| Measurements | Length – 14-15 cm Weight – 12.3 – 15.3g |
| Native to | Africa |
| Habitat | Forests, Grasslands, Shrubland, savanna |
| Diet | Mainly Nectar but will take insects, spiders, fruits & berries |
15. Purple starling (Scientific name – Lamprotornis purpureus)
Our fifteenth and final bird on the list of green and purple birds is the purple starling. This glossy looking bird has purple and green plumage which changes with the light. It has a standout yellow eye which stands out against the bird’s colouring. This is a stocky bird with a short tail and can be seen in the image above.
| Measurements | Length – 22 – 27 cm |
| Native to | Africa |
| Habitat | Savanna, scrubland, freshwater, woodland |
| Diet | Omnivore |
In summary;
We have seen 15 different species of green and purple birds in this article. We have used pictures to help with identification along with some interesting information on where they are native to, habitat and diet.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. Questions or comments welcomed.
Collins dictionary accessed 13th March 2023 https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tachy