Green Fronted Lance Bill

The green-fronted lancebill is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. Primarily known for its incredibly long bill and “glittering” green patch of feathers on its forehead.The green-fronted lancebill, as the name suggests, is distinguished by a “glittering” green patch of feathers on their forehead. Between males and females, males consistently have a prominent forehead patch, however, literature is inconsistent on the appearance of females. One notable source claims females can vary widely between individuals, stating the female forehead with regards to both feather development and color intensity, can range from barely visible to indistinguishable from common male plumage. Body plumage is uniform regardless of sex with both males and females having a drab grey-green breast and belly. A coppery patch extends from the nape and down along the sides of the neck. This meets a rich green that occupies much of the crown except for the eponymous green forehead patch. Much of the back and dorsal face of the tail are a similar rich green as the green with an iridescence creating a situational alternation between green, teal, and turquoise. The last feature that distinguishes the green-fronted lancebill is its eponymous bill. The bill is exceptionally long for any hummingbird (ranging from 29mm to 36.5mm with variation primarily attributed to regional populations) and is the inspiration for the genus name Doryfera translating roughly to "spear bearer". In physical dimension, a size difference between male and females has not been identified with regards to body length and beak proportions

Scientific name: Doryfera ludovicae

Conservation status: Least Concern