Green Violetear - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Green Violetear belongs to the order Apodiformes. Hummingbirds share this order with the swifts, such as the white-collared swift. The name Apodiformes is derived from the Greek words "a pous," meaning "without foot." While apidiforms do in fact have feet, they are quite small and their legs are short and relatively weak. Many birds in this order cannot walk, and thus rarely if ever land on the ground since quick escape from predators is virtually impossible. For this reason members of this order spend a majority of their time in the air.

All hummingbirds belong to the family Trochilidae, a family exclusive to The Americas. The most diverse hummingbird populations reside in northwestern South America. This family contains what is considered to be the world’s smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). Hummingbirds are notorious for their ability to rotate the entire wing at the shoulders, permitting stationary hovering and even backwards flight, the latter of which is a skill exclusive to hummingbirds.

There are two other species which occupy the Violetear (Colibri) genus; the Brown Violetear and the Sparkling Violetear. While their ranges overlap, they are generally found at different altitudes and occupy different habitats. These three hummingbirds are characterized by their violet ear patches. In all three species there is no strong sexual dimorphism.