The Tyrian metaltail (Metallura tyrianthina) is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Lesbiinae, the brilliants and coquettes. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Tyrian metaltail has these seven subspecies:
M. t. districta Bangs (1899)
M. t. chloropogon Cabanis & Heine (1860)
M. t. oreopola Todd (1913)
M. t. tyrianthina Loddiges (1832)
M. t. quitensis Gould (1861)
M. t. septentrionalis Hartert, E. (1899)
M. t. smaragdinicollis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye (1838)
In the early twentieth century some authors treated M. t. chloropogon and M. t. smaragdinicollis as full species but that treatment has not been widely accepted.
