Gould's jewelfront

H.aurescens ranges in size from 11 to 12 cm, with an average weight of about 6.2 g. The bill, black to dark coloured while the irises are brown and tarsus black. The tail is forked with the central pair of feathers bronze-green while the other tail feathers have chestnut edges and bronze-green tips. Undertail coverts are a deep fawn colour and wings are purplish-brown. and is minimal when considering the wide range. and exposed culmen length of 18.5 mm. Gould's original specimen had a bill of 2.5 cm and tail length of 31.75 mm. Males have shining grass green upperparts with the sides of the neck and lower throat glittering golden green bordered by a distinctive orange/rufous breast band. The chin, lores and upper throat are velvety black while the rest of the underparts are shining green.). The chin feathers have buff tips and the throat is greyish with green discs. Females also feature a malar stripe (from the base of the bill towards the neck) which is buff to chestnut coloured. ==Systematics and taxonomy==

Heliodoxa aurescens is one of nine species in the genus Heliodoxa (the "Brilliants"). It was first described by John Gould in 1846 who named it Trochilus aurescens. a finding confirmed by subsequent research. These studies indicate it is closely related to the Black-throated brilliant (H.schreibersii), and may have evolved in parapatry to the Velvet-browed brilliant (H.xanthogonys). ==Distribution==

The exact distribution of H.aurescens is not known, but considered unusual since the other members of the genus have very narrow or restricted ranges, often at higher elevations in the Andes. It is widely distributed at elevations from 250 m to 1150 m The northern boundary of the range is in southern Venezuela, It occupies a large area of north-western Brazil where the eastern boundary of the range is found in the State of Para. but H.aurescens was detected in Bolivia in 1984 Otherwise the species is considered sedentary. ==Habitat==

H.aurescens is typically found in the understorey of lowland humid tropical forests, particularly near streams, and only rarely at forest edges. seen feeding at flowers in the canopy of "a small patch of semi-deciduous forest surrounded by terra firme". In a one-year survey in Columbia H.aurescens was found only in old secondary growth and never in young secondary growth or undisturbed understory; but was observed in primary forest in a later survey. and terra firme in Peru. ==Diet==

Like most hummingbirds, H.aurescens is primarily nectarivous supplementing the diet with small arthropods hawked from the air. While typically a generalist understorey species, they have been observed feeding from flowers in tall trees; and visiting feeding stations in Ecuador, where they showed some aggression towards other birds in the area. An extensive study on feeding guilds in Brazilian hummingbirds indicated that H.aurescens was not generally territorial but they were omitted from the analysis of food plant use due to there being too few observations, with only three specimens netted in a two-year survey. ==Reproduction==

Very little is known of the reproductive biology. Breeding is thought to occur between June and September with a clutch of two eggs incubated by the female. Two descriptions of female specimens indicate their gonads are well developed in February and April; but a single male specimen obtained in February had "small" gonads. ==Conservation status==

H.aurescens is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. There are suggestions the species is in decline but not at a rate which warrants classification as endangered. Numerous studies indicate the species is present but uncommon, with many long term studies only producing small numbers of observations (E.G. Cotton 1998, Lees et al., 2013) A density of 1 individual per 100 hectares was determined in Peru when only one individual was observed in a 100 Ha study site in a three-month survey. ==References==