[3] The male has an iridescent plumage, forked dark tail, green crown, long magenta gorget, and white underparts.

[3][4] The female is larger with duller plumage, pale throat and white or buff feathers underside, usually with crimson trim.

[3] It is also found in the Madrean sky islands of the northern end of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico.

[citation needed] Its preferred habitat tends to be at altitudes of 3,500–5,500 feet (1,100–1,700 m) in canyons, mountain slopes, and dry washes having desert shrubs and cacti.

The diet consists mainly of nectar from agave and colorful desert flowers, spiders and small insects.