Perija Metaltail

Rare and very local, confined to high-elevation habitats of the Sierra de Perija. Access on the Venezuelan side is logistically and security-constrained (remote border zone), so most current observations come from the Colombian slope. A genuine specialty requiring a dedicated, well-planned high-altitude trip.

Small dark metaltail. Largely dull/dusky green with a coppery-bronze gloss; the key mark is a long, broad iridescent coppery-to-bronzy tail (not bluish). Males darker overall; females show a finely speckled/spotted throat. Straight short black bill.

High Andean páramo and elfin/treeline scrub and forest, roughly 2400-3200 m: scrubby areas in and around high-elevation grasslands near the tree line in the Sierra de Perija. Much of the range is remote and remains in fairly pristine condition.

Typical metaltail: low, active foraging at flowering shrubs and páramo plants (e.g., Ericaceae), often perching on exposed twigs and trap-lining flowers; aggressive at flower patches (the epithet 'iracunda' = irascible).

High, thin, dry chips and twittering typical of Metallura; not a strong songster. Search 'Perija Metaltail' (code permet1) on Macaulay Library and 'Metallura iracunda' on Xeno-canto — recordings are scarce, so also study 'Tyrian Metaltail Metallura tyrianthina' for the genus's call structure.

A border-zone specialty — vet permits, local fixers, and security carefully before committing clients to the Venezuelan side; the Colombian Perija slope is often the more practical option. Once on site, work flowering Ericaceae patches at treeline at first light and separate it from Tyrian Metaltail on the long coppery tail. Note IUCN has rated it Endangered since 2004 (some recent BirdLife reviews discuss Near Threatened); brief clients as a threatened high-Andean near-endemic.