Lesser Violetear
Colibri cyanotus
The Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus) is a uncommon hummingbird found in 7 countries. The lesser violetear, also known as the mountain violet-ear, is a medium-sized, metallic green hummingbird species commonly found in forested areas from Costa Rica south to the Andes and Argentina and east to Venezuela.
About the Lesser Violetear
The lesser violetear, also known as the mountain violet-ear, is a medium-sized, metallic green hummingbird species commonly found in forested areas from Costa Rica south to the Andes and Argentina and east to Venezuela. This species and the Mexican violetear were formerly considered as conspecific and named the 'green violetear'.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The lesser 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). It is shining green above with a glittering violet ear-patch on the sides of its neck. Voice: Solitary males sing from high, 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.
What the Lesser Violetear sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Lesser Violetear can be seen all year round, with peak activity in February. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Lesser Violetear?
- The lesser violetear is roughly medium-sized by hummingbird standards. Full identification notes are on this page.
- Where can you see a Lesser Violetear?
- The Lesser Violetear occurs in 7 countries, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama.
- What does a Lesser Violetear sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Lesser Violetear on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Lesser Violetear?
- The Lesser Violetear is most easily confused with the Sparkling Violetear, the Brown Violetear and the Mexican Violetear.
Learn the Lesser Violetear for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.