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Lesser Violetear

Colibri cyanotus

Not Evaluated · IUCN Red List

NENot EvaluatedInvertebratesForest6 g
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 1
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 2
Photo: Fneskljvnl · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 3
Photo: no rights reserved · CC0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 4
Photo: kristen_276 · CC0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 5
Photo: sprcrkwild · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 6
Photo: Peter Archdale · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 7
Photo: Katherine King · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 8
Photo: Katherine King · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 9
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC0
Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus), photo 10
Photo: Fneskljvnl · CC BY 4.0

What the Lesser Violetear sounds like

Sonogram of the Lesser Violetear: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz @rosaelena_naturaleza · Song · San Antonio De Los Altos (near Parroquia Macarao), Municipio Los Salias, Miranda, Venezuela · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Lesser Violetear: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Beth Cottam · Call · Cerro de La Muerte--km 70, Mirador de Quetzales, Costa Rica · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Lesser Violetear: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by JUAN ANTONIO ALONSO DE JUAN · Song · San Antonio del Tequendama, Cundinamarca, Colombia · CC BY 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Lesser Violetear

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

Where to see the Lesser Violetear

Regular range

The map shades 7 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Costa Rica Colombia Ecuador Peru Panama Venezuela Bolivia

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.

Easily confused with

Sparkling Violetear (Colibri coruscans) Sparkling VioletearColibri coruscansThe sparkling violetear is the largest violetear at 13 to 14 cm (5 to 5.5 in) long. Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae) Brown VioletearColibri delphinaeThe brown violetear is a large hummingbird that breeds at middle elevations in the mountains in Central America, and western and northern South America with isolated populations on Trinidad and in the Brazilian state Bahia. Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus) Mexican VioletearColibri thalassinusThe Mexican violetear is roughly medium-sized by hummingbird standards.

Side by side: Lesser Violetear vs Sparkling Violetear · Lesser Violetear vs Mexican Violetear · Lesser Violetear vs White-vented Violetear

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