Colibri

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Superordo: Caprimulgimorphae
Ordo: Apodiformes

Familia: Trochilidae
Subfamilia: Trochilinae
Genus: Colibri
Species: C. coruscans – C. cyanotus – C. delphinae – C. serrirostris – C. thalassinus

Name

Colibri (Spix, 1824)

Typus: Trochilus serrirostris Vieillot, 1816 = Colibri serrirostris

Synonyms

Petasophora G.R. Gray, 1840 ListGen.Birds p. 13 BHL
Petasophorus Mulsant, J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1866 (emend.) Mem.Soc.Imp.Sci.Nat. de Cherbourg 12 p. 192 BHL
Colibris P.L. Sclater, 1857 (emend.) PZS pt.24 [1856] p. 287 BHL
Telesiella Reichenbach, 1854 J.Ornith. p. 13 BHL
Praxilla Reichenbach, 1854 J.Ornith. p. 13 BHL
Delphinella Reichenbach, 1854
Pinarolaema Gould, 1880 Ann.Mag.Nat.Hist. p. 489 BHL

References
Primary references

Spix, J.B. von 1824. Avium species novae, quas in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII-MDCCCXX jussu et auspiciis Maximiliani Josephi I. Bavariae regis augustissimi. Suscepto. Collegit et descripsit Dr. Joannes Bapt. de Spix. Curavit Martius, C.F.P. von. 1: 90 pp. + 104 tt. Illustrations: Matthias Schmidt. Ed. Monachii, Impensis Editoris, 1838. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.63181 p. 80 BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Remsen, J.V., Jr., Stiles, F. & McGuire, J.A. 2015. Classification of the Polytminae (Aves: Trochilidae). Zootaxa 3957(1): 143–150. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3957.1.13 Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Violet-ears
español: Colibríes
português: Beija-flores

The violetears are hummingbirds of the genus Colibri. They are medium to large species found in Mexico, and Central and northern South America. The Mexican violetear occasionally wanders as far north as the United States and even Canada.

Violetears have ample rounded tails and short or medium black bills. Three of the four species have a mainly green plumage. The males have a violet blue patch running back and down from the eye, which is erected when they are excited, and a glittering throat patch. The female plumage is generally like the male's, but the ear and throat patches are smaller.

Violetears build substantial cup nests into which two white eggs are laid. They have loud persistent songs, often repetitions of double notes.

These birds come readily to artificial nectar feeders, and show no fear of humans. They are aggressively territorial, and at feeders or flowering shrubs they spend much time chasing other hummingbirds, rather than feeding.
Species

Genus Violetear – Spix, 1824 – five species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Brown violetear	Colibri delphinae (Lesson, 1839)	Mexico to northern and western South America	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Mexican violetear	Colibri thalassinus (Swainson, 1827)	Mexico to northwestern Nicaragua	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Lesser violetear	Colibri cyanotus (Bourcier, 1843) Four subspecies C. c. cabanidis (Heine), 1863) C. c. cyanotus (Bourcier, 1843) C. c. kerdeli Aveledo & Perez, 1991 C. c. crissalis Todd, 1942	Costa Rica, Panama, and the Andes (from Bolivia and northwards)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

Sparkling violetear	Colibri coruscans (Gould, 1846) Two subspecies C. c. coruscans C. c. germanus	The Andes (from Argentina and northwards)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

White-vented violetear	Colibri serrirostris (Vieillot, 1816)	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

References

Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Hummingbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 January 2020.

Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
Birds of the World, 1999 Edition ISBN 9780862838065