The Steely-vented Hummingbird is a member of the "emeralds" tribe Trochilini, and native to Colombia and Venezuela​​. The Steely-vented Hummingbird is generally sedentary, making local movements in response to the availability of flowering plants​​. Measuring 3.1 to 4.3 inches in length and weighing around 0.16 to 0.18 ounces, the Steely-vented Hummingbird exhibits sexual dimorphism. Adult males display golden-green upperparts with blue-black uppertail coverts and dark golden-green underparts, while females have some white on their throats and grayish-brown undertail coverts. Immature birds are duller and resemble the females​​. The species occupies semi-open to open landscapes such as scrublands, savanna, forest edges, secondary forests, plantations, and gardens, primarily in somewhat arid environments. It is typically found from sea level up to 4,900 feet, although one subspecies (S. s. braccata) can be found up to 6,600 feet and rarely as high as 9,800 feet​​. It is known to forage for nectar at low bushes and trees and is somewhat territorial​​. The Steely-vented Hummingbird breeds any time of the year in Colombia. The species is assessed by the IUCN as being of Least Concern, with a population of at least 500,000 mature individuals. Photographed in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.