Purple Grenadier

The Purple Grenadier sparkles with its bright colors, particularly the male which, as indicated by its name, has colors that give it a purple hue, resulting from a visual mix of blue and red from a distance. The species indeed shows sexual dimorphism. The adult male has a head and neck of cinnamon color, except for a large bright blue eye-ring. The eye with a dark red iris is surrounded by an equal red eye-ring. The bill, conical with culmen and gonys slightly curved, is red-coral, often with the culmen somewhat gray. The mantle, back and wings are of a rather cold grayish brown. The rump and upper tail-coverts are blue. The tail is black with a bit of blue at its base. The underparts are of a deep cobalt blue, with cinnamon yellow accents in the form of a breast band more or less distinct, and often in the form of patches at the throat, lower chest and belly with a great individual variability. The legs are gray. The adult female has the upperparts identical to the male. She is distinguished mainly by the lack of blue on the underparts, but also by less blue around the eye. The cinnamon red hue on the head reaches the underparts, mostly the chest and sides which show spotted/barred pale markings, and often on the throat and belly in the form of patches, again with great individual variability. The belly and underside can be white. The juvenile is similar to the female but with a duller plumage. The bright cinnamon red is replaced by a uniform reddish fawn. The eye-ring is whitish to bluish white. The bill is darkened. As in the Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, a partial molt of the head occurs at a very young age. When the adult looking head is formed, the upper jaw is still black and the lower one red-orange.The rest of the plumage is still juvenile. There are considerable individual variations and many intermediate plumages.