Bird Guide

Mexican Violetear vs White-vented Violetear

Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus)

Mexican Violetear

Colibri thalassinus

Tiny6 gForest

The Mexican violetear is roughly medium-sized by hummingbird standards. It averages around 9.7 to 12 cm (3.8 to 4.7 in) in total length. Its bill is black and mostly straight with only a slight downward curve and measures from 1.8 to 2.5 cm (0.71 to 0.98 in). The body mass can vary from 4.8 to 5.6 g (0.17 to 0.20 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.8 to 6.8 cm (2.3 to 2.7 in) and the tail is 3.5 to 4.3 cm (1.4 to 1.7 in). The bird has a wingspan of 12 cm. It is shining green above with a glittering violet ear-patch on the sides of its neck. Voice: Solitary males sing from above, exposed twigs in their territory every day. Their song is a monotonously repeated sharp and dry "tsu-tzeek" at a rate of about one call per second.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: jons2 at pdphoto.org · Public domain
White-vented Violetear (Colibri serrirostris)

White-vented Violetear

Colibri serrirostris

Tiny7 gShrubland

The white-vented violetear is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 5.6 to 6.8 g (0.20 to 0.24 oz). The male is mostly shiny green, of a shade lighter than that of other violetears. Towards the rump it is yellow-green with a blue shimmer. The tail is glittering green with a wide steel-blue band near the end. The undertail coverts are pure white. The area behind the eye and covering the ears is violet blue. The female is similar to the male but paler and more grayish. The maxilla of both sexes is sometimes serrated, which provides its specific epithet. Voice: The white-vented violetear's song is "a constantly repeated 'tsilp, tsilp, zip, tsalp, tsalp'" that may continue for 25 minutes. Its principal call is "a hard 'drüg, drüg, drüg, drüg, drüg'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Under the same moon... · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Mexican Violetear and White-vented Violetear.