Mexican Violetear

Colibri thalassinus (Swainson, 1827)

Spanish: Colibrí Orejas Violetas Mexicano

The Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus) is a hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae (mangoes). It weighs about 5.9 g and its bill is 23.9 mm long. It lives in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the United States and Nicaragua. Its IUCN Red List status is Least concern.

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At a glance

Weight

5.9 g, about 6 paperclips

Bill

23.9 mm

Lives in

Forest

Moves

Stays put all year

Red List status

Least concern

Its place in the family

1. Family Trochilidae hummingbirds
2. Subfamily Polytminae mangoes
3. Genus Colibri violetears

What Colibri share: A patch of violet-blue feathers behind the eye (the 'ear') that can be fanned out in display.

Where it lives · 7 countries

• Mexico
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• El Salvador
• United States
• Nicaragua
• Canada rare visitor

Others in the genus Colibri

• Brown Violetear Colibri delphinae
• Lesser Violetear Colibri cyanotus
• Sparkling Violetear Colibri coruscans
• White-vented Violetear Colibri serrirostris

Sources

Names: eBird/Clements Checklist (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). Groups: Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and McGuire et al. (2014). Weight, bill, habitat and movement: AVONET (Tobias et al. 2022, CC BY 4.0). Countries: BirdLife International DataZone, checked against eBird records via GBIF. Red List status and trend: BirdLife International, the IUCN Red List authority for birds.

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