Mexican Sheartail

About the Mexican Sheartail

The Mexican sheartail (Doricha eliza) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Mexico. This is a tiny bird, weighing only 2.4 to 2.6 g (0.085 to 0.092 oz). All Mexican sheartails have a long, curved and black bill, a dull green crown and bronzy-green nape and upper parts. Males and females are sexually dimorphic. The male, which is 9 to 10 centimetres (3.5 to 3.9 in) long including the tail, has a white line behind the eye and a pink-purple throat with a white band below. His underparts are dull green, being clearer on median belly and feathers covering his undertail. The male's tail is long and deeply forked, usually held closed in repose. His inner tail are feathers green, the rest being black with cinnamon inner margins. Females, at 8.5 to 9 cm (3.3 to 3.5 in), have a whitish face with a blackish stripe behind the eye. Her throat, chest and belly are whitish with cinnamon tinges on the sides. The female has a shorter forked tail, the outer feathers of which are reddish with a subterminal black band and white tips. Immatures are similar to females. Females are also far more commonly seen than males, typically outnumbering the latter... Wikipedia →