The Scintillant Hummingbird is a tiny hummingbird of highland scrub and forest edges. During breeding, males defend feeding areas with chases and steep dives.
Adult males are bronze-green above, with a brilliant orange-red gorget and white on the front and sides of the neck. The breast and belly are mostly cinnamon with green flecks. Females have a buff throat speckled with dark markings.
It uses brushy forest edges, weedy pastures, hedges, young secondary growth and coffee plantations; it sometimes visits rural gardens. During breeding, males defend territories with conspicuous chases and diving displays.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.