Bird Guide

Blue-tailed Hummingbird vs Green-bellied Hummingbird

Blue-tailed Hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanura)

Blue-tailed Hummingbird

Saucerottia cyanura

Tiny5 gWoodland

The blue-tailed hummingbird is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long. One male specimen weighed 3.9 g (0.14 oz) and females weigh about 4.5 g (0.16 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a black bill with a reddish base to the mandible. Males of the nominate subspecies have a deep metallic green crown and back, a dull purplish bronze rump, and dark metallic bluish uppertail coverts. Their primaries and secondaries are chestnut and show as a patch on the closed wing. Their tail is dark metallic violet blue. Their underparts are mostly bright metallic green with dull steel blue undertail coverts. Voice: The blue-tailed hummingbird's song is "a short twitter". Its calls include "a hard, raspy bzzzrt ... hard chips, and high, sharp siik!, the last of which it makes in flight.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Tommy Andriollo · CC BY 4.0
Green-bellied Hummingbird (Saucerottia viridigaster)

Green-bellied Hummingbird

Saucerottia viridigaster

Tiny6 gForest

The green-bellied hummingbird is 8 to 10.5 cm (3.1 to 4.1 in) long and weighs 4.5 to 6.7 g (0.16 to 0.24 oz). Both sexes of both subspecies have a straight, medium length, blackish bill with a pink to reddish base to the mandible. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dull golden-green head and back and olive green to brownish rump and uppertail coverts; the last sometimes have a purplish tinge. Their wings are dark purple brown and their tail deep blue to violet blue. Their underparts are a dark shining green becoming grayish brown at the vent. Voice: The green-bellied hummingbird's song has been variously described as " a short dainty phrase which is repeated several times...tee-tee-dji-dji or tee-dji-tee-dji" and also as "a waif-like ta-da titi-da". Calls include a "short high-pitched buzzy note...tzree..tzree..tzree..." and a "fast stuttered descending series...TSEe-tsee-tsi-tsi-ti-ti".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dario Taraborelli · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-tailed Hummingbird and Green-bellied Hummingbird.