Confined to the middle and upper Magdalena Valley from Boyacá south into Huila. Uncommon or locally common, it favors shrubby vegetation, forest borders and shade coffee plantations between 400 – 2200m.

Apparently nomadic or with strong seasonal movements, it has been recorded once near Barranquilla and once in Costa Rica (accidentals). This is one of the stellar hummingbirds at the Enchanted Gardens of San Francisco not too far away from Bogotá.