About the Tyrian Metaltail
The Tyrian metaltail is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Lesbiinae, the brilliants and coquettes. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Tyrian Metaltail sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Viridian MetaltailMetallura williamiThe viridian metaltail is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 4.1 to 5.3 g (0.14 to 0.19 oz).
Black MetaltailMetallura phoebeThe black metaltail is 11.5 to 12.5 cm (4.5 to 4.9 in) long and weighs about 6 g (0.21 oz).
Scaled MetaltailMetallura aeneocaudaThe scaled metaltail is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 5.2 to 5.4 g (0.18 to 0.19 oz).
Learn the Tyrian Metaltail for real
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