Tyrian Metaltail

The Tyrian metaltail is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 2.7 to 5.1 g (0.10 to 0.18 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a short, straight, black bill. The male of the nominate subspecies has bottle green upperparts and gray underparts with pale fringes on the feathers. It has an emerald green throat and a slightly forked glistening bronze tail. The female is also bottle green above. Its throat and upper breast are ochre-orange with olive green spots and the lower breast and belly are whitish with green spots. Its outer tail feathers have whitish tips. Voice: The Tyrian metaltail does not sing often; its song is "a repeated series of weak, high-pitched, lispy notes 'seek..sik..see..si..see..sip..see.......see..seek..see..see...'." It more often calls while chasing, "alternating stuttering trills and repeated phrases of squeaky notes 'trr..trr..trr..tsi-see-sew-sew...tsi-see-sew-sew...'". It also makes "a brief rattle and short 'tsit' or 'pit' notes.