Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Found only in western Ecucador and Peru, the Amazilia Hummingbird is a bird of open semi-arid to arid landscapes, rarely found deep in forested areas. These landscapes include scrublands, thorn forest, xerophytic steppe, and desert. It’s also common in cultivated areas and city parks and gardens. A time-budget study in Lima, Peru, showed that the species spent 80% of its time perched and about 15% foraging for nectar. It spent about 2% of its time defending feeding territories and only 0.3% hunting insects and drinking water.

In 2014, DNA studies indicating that the Amazilia Hummingbird was significantly different from others in Amazilia led some ornithologists to “split” it into its own genus, Amazilis.