This hummingbird occurs in separate areas from Central America into northwestern South America. Males have violet or green crowns and backs, while females have grey throats and breasts; the birds feed on nectar and small invertebrates.
Males have violet or green crowns, upper backs, and shoulders, an iridescent green throat and breast, and a deeply forked blue-black tail. Females have grey throats and breasts and a rounded tail.
Among 76 analyzed records, adult male Crowned Woodnymphs had green on the head, throat and back, with purple on the crown, breast and belly. Their blue tails forked at the tip. Females were green on the back, with grey from throat to belly.
Young males had a less brilliant throat than adult males. During a young bird’s first feather change, only 0–3 inner feathers in the row covering the wing surface were replaced (mean 1.13). Duller green feathers remained beside new feathers that were metallic green in females and violet in males. Males had their full adult colors by their second major feather change. In 48 records with fully grown plumage, no fine ridges were recorded on the bill.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.