Mexican Sheartail
A species of Middle American Sheartails Scientific name : Doricha eliza Genus : Middle American Sheartails
Mexican Sheartail, A species of Middle American Sheartails
Botanical name: Doricha eliza
Genus: Middle American Sheartails
Content
Description General Info
Photo By sandboa , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
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 upperparts. Males and females are sexual dimorphic. The male, which are 9 to 10 centimetres (3.5 to 3.9 in) long including the tail, have 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 cover 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. Female, at 8.5 to 9 cm (3.3 to 3.5 in), has 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. 
Size
10 cm
Colors
Black
Green
Gray
White
Purple
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Mexican Sheartail primarily consumes nectar, supplemented by various invertebrates. It employs hovering and darting techniques to feed from flowers and catch prey, particularly at dawn and dusk. Mexican Sheartail exhibits a strong preference for certain native flowering plants.
Habitat
The primary habitat of mexican Sheartail encompasses arid lowland scrub, semiopen mangroves edges, and occasionally residential gardens. This species is adapted to thrive in dry deciduous forests as well, typical of the broader neotropical regions. Mexican Sheartail demonstrates versatility by occupying both natural and modified landscapes within these ecosystems.
Dite type
Nectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
The Mexican sheartail feeds on nectar from flowers and has been seen visiting Ipomoea, Justicia and Helicteres guazumaefolia. It also sometimes consumes small arthropods. In Veracruz, breeding takes place from May onwards and in Yucatán, between August and April. The tiny cup-shaped nest is made of lichens, spiders webs and the seeds of daisy family plants. Two eggs are laid and newly fledged young have been reported from Yucatán in February and March.
Distribution Area
It is found only in Mexico where it lives in two disjunct populations, one in the center of Veracruz and the other in the northern coastal area of the Yucatan Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, mangroves, rural gardens and urban areas. A specific example of the mangrove habitat is the Petenes mangroves ecoregion in the Yucatán Peninsula. The species is threatened by habitat loss.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Swifts and hummingbirds Family
Hummingbirds Species
Mexican Sheartail 
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