[1] An adult white-tufted sunbeam is approximately 12 cm in height and weighs 7- 8.5 g. The bill is straight and black and there is a notable patch of white feathers directly under the chin on the breast.

[3] The white-tufted sunbeam has a small and fragmented range, estimated at a maximum of 832 km2 (approximately 321 sq mi), cumulatively.

They prefer drier parts of evergreen montane forests, intermontane valleys, and open shrub.

Vocalizations include a repeated tzit call and, during chases, a twittering series of titi-tsreet-tsreet-tsreet sounds.

[3] This hummingbird's divided range meets the criterion of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation) Red List, and is therefore evaluated as near threatened.

[1] While the hummingbird's exact population size is unknown, white-tufted sunbeams have been described as “common but patchily distributed.