Black-eared Fairy (Heliothryx auritus) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernNectar

ForestCup nestTiny · 5 g

Black-eared Fairy (Heliothryx auritus), photo 7 — Photo: Dodd, Mead and Company · Public domain

What the Black-eared Fairy sounds like

Sonogram of the Black-eared Fairy: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: 1-2 km W Shaimi, Nangaritza Valley, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The black-eared fairy is 10.1 to 13.7 cm (4.0 to 5.4 in) long and weighs 4 to 6.3 g (0.14 to 0.22 oz). The nominate male has bright shiny green upperparts, pure white underparts, and a long pointed tail which has darkish blue central and white outer feathers. It has a black patch below the eye, glittering purple ear coverts, and a short, straight, black bill. The female is similar but has no purple on the face, its throat and breast have grayish dots, and the three outer pairs of tail feathers have a black band at their base.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Black-eared Fairy

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is July, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Black-eared Fairy

Regular range

The map shades 9 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Brazil Ecuador Peru Colombia Guyana Venezuela Suriname French Guiana Bolivia

About the Black-eared Fairy

The black-eared fairy is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Purple-crowned FairyHeliothryx barrotiThe purple-crowned fairy is 9 to 13 cm (3.5 to 5.1 in) long and weighs about 5.5 g (0.19 oz).

Side by side: Black-eared Fairy vs Purple-crowned Fairy · Black-eared Fairy vs Dusky Hummingbird

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