Mexican Ground Squirrel vs Mexican Violetear

Ictidomys mexicanus compared with Colibri thalassinus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Mexican Ground Squirrel	Mexican Violetear
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Sciuridae (Squirrels)	Trochilidae
Genus	Ictidomys	Colibri
Species	Ictidomys mexicanus	Colibri thalassinus

Evolutionary Relationship

Mexican Ground Squirrel and Mexican Violetear share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Mexican Ground Squirrel

LC — Least Concern

Mexican Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Mexican Ground Squirrel	Mexican Violetear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Mexican Ground Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Mexican Violetear

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, United States, and Venezuela.

Mexican Violetear

A medium-sized, predominantly green hummingbird with a distinctive iridescent violet-blue ear patch and chest stripe, Mexican violetears inhabit highland and montane forests from Mexico south through Central America at elevations of 1,000–3,000 meters. Males are aggressive, highly vocal territory defenders and perform showy flight displays. They breed at high altitudes but some populations make seasonal altitudinal migrations. Among the most common hummingbirds in Mexican highland pine-oak and cloud forest habitats.