This hummingbird lives in forests along the eastern Andes. The male has a green body and an amethyst throat, while the female is duller with a rufous-brown throat. Nectar is its main food.
The male has shining green upperparts, a blue-green frontlet, and an amethyst gorget bordered below by a broad white pectoral area. The female is duller, with a rufous-brown throat.
It lives in forests on the eastern Andean slopes and feeds mainly on nectar. Its usual elevation range is 1,100–3,700 m, but it occurs lower in areas north and west of the Marañón Valley.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.