Metallura tyrianthina (Loddiges, 1832)

Species Size

The Tyrian metaltail (Metallura tyrianthina) is a hummingbird species that 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). All subspecies of both sexes have a short, straight, black bill.

Nominate Subspecies Male Plumage

For the nominate subspecies, the male has bottle green upperparts and gray underparts with pale feather fringes, an emerald green throat, and a slightly forked, glistening bronze tail.

Nominate Subspecies Female Plumage

The nominate female is also bottle green above; its throat and upper breast are ochre-orange with olive green spots, its lower breast and belly are whitish with green spots, and its outer tail feathers have whitish tips.

Subspecies Plumage Variation

The plumage of all other Tyrian metaltail subspecies differs significantly from the nominate. M. t. districta has a violet tail, and the female has no spotted underparts.

M. t. chloropogon Plumage

Both sexes of M. t. chloropogon have a coppery red tail; the male is otherwise almost completely black, and the female only has a few spots on its throat and upper breast.

M. t. oreopola Plumage

M. t. oreopola has a golden red tail. The male's upperpart feathers have coppery bars near their ends, and its underparts are green with pale feather fringes. The female's throat and upper breast have few spots.

M. t. quitensis Plumage

M. t. quitensis has a longer bill than the nominate and a bronze-olive tail.

M. t. septentrionalis Plumage

M. t. septentrionalis has a purple-blue tail with green inclusions, and the male's underparts are white with bronze-olive spots.

M. t. smaragdinicollis Plumage

M. t. smaragdinicollis shares M. t. districta's violet tail, but the female's throat and upper breast are heavily spotted like those of the nominate.

M. t. districta Distribution

Each subspecies of the Tyrian metaltail occupies a distinct range: M. t. districta is found in northern Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and northwestern Venezuela's Serranía del Perijá.

M. t. chloropogon Distribution

M. t. chloropogon occurs in Venezuela's Coastal Range, between the states of Aragua and Miranda.

M. t. oreopola Distribution

M. t. oreopola lives in the Andes of Venezuela from southwestern Lara south to northern Táchira.

Nominate Subspecies Distribution

The nominate subspecies M. t. tyrianthina ranges from southern Táchira south through all three Andean chains of Colombia, eastern and southern Ecuador, and into Piura department in extreme northern Peru.

M. t. quitensis Distribution

M. t. quitensis is found in northwestern Ecuador.

M. t. septentrionalis Distribution

M. t. septentrionalis inhabits the west slope of the Peruvian Andes west of the Marañón River between the departments of Cajamarca and Lima.

M. t. smaragdinicollis Distribution

M. t. smaragdinicollis occurs on the east slope of the Peruvian Andes from the department of Amazonas south and east across central Bolivia into Santa Cruz department.

Habitat Types

The Tyrian metaltail lives in the interior of multiple humid open landscapes, including secondary forest, cloudforest, mossy treeline scrub, and elfin forest. It is also found at the edges or in brushy areas of páramo.

Elevation Range

Its overall elevation range is 1,500 to 4,200 m (4,900 to 13,800 ft); it is most common between 2,500 to 3,300 m (8,200 to 10,800 ft) across most of its range, and occurs at about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Venezuela's coastal mountains.