Brown Violetear vs Speckled Hummingbird

Colibri delphinae compared with Adelomyia melanogenys

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Violetear	Speckled Hummingbird
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Colibri	Adelomyia
Species	Colibri delphinae	Adelomyia melanogenys

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Violetear and Speckled Hummingbird share a common ancestor at the Family level: Trochilidae.

Conservation Status

Brown Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Speckled Hummingbird

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Violetear	Speckled Hummingbird
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Violetear

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Speckled Hummingbird

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Brown Violetear

The only predominantly brown hummingbird in the violetear genus, brown violetears have brownish-bronze upper parts and a diagnostic violet-blue ear patch. Found across a broad range of humid forest and forest edge from Guatemala south through Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil to Bolivia. Inhabiting elevations from lowland to 2,000 meters, they are found in forest interior, forest edge, and gardens. Despite relatively drab plumage for a hummingbird, the violet ear patch glitters vividly in direct sunlight.

Speckled Hummingbird

A medium-sized hummingbird with speckled or spotted underparts — unusual among hummingbirds dominated by plain or iridescent plumages — speckled hummingbirds inhabit cloud forest and forest edges in the Andes from Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia at elevations of 900–3,000 meters. The spotted underpart pattern provides remarkable camouflage when the bird perches on lichen-covered bark. They forage on nectar and small arthropods and are important pollinators of Andean epiphytes.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela