Medium-sized hummingbird with a red bill that is black at the tip. Males have an iridescent green throat that can appear dark depending on the light and a buffy belly. Tail is rusty.
Upperparts metallic bronze green with a rusty tail and dark wings. Note red bill, tipped in black.
Individuals in the Yucatan have bright rusty bellies.
Bronze-green above with a green gorget (not always well defined) and a rusty tail. Underparts are buffy. Note red bill.
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Relative to other U.S. hummingbirds, this is a fairly large hummingbird with moderately long bill, tail, and wings.
Larger than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, smaller than a House Wren.
sparrow-sized or smallerOrnithologists recognize three subspecies, one of which (chalconota) is found in the United States. The other two (cerviniventris and yucatanensis) are resident farther south in Mexico. These subspecies differ in the color tones of their body plumage, with the northern two subspecies paler below, the southern yucatanensis more richly rufous rather than buff in the belly.
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