Sabrewing

The sabrewings are relatively large Neotropical hummingbirds in the genus Campylopterus. They are species of the understory and edges of forests, mostly in mountains, and often near streams. The female Sabrewing lays its two white eggs in a relatively large cup nest on a low horizontal branch, usually over a stream.

Sabrewing
Gray-breasted Sabrewing Campylopterus largipennis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Subfamily: Trochilinae
Genus: Campylopterus
Swainson, 1827
Type species
Campylopterus largipennis
Species

9, see text

The sabrewings are very large for hummingbirds, typically 12–15 cm long. The black bill is strong and slightly decurved. The shafts of the male's two outermost primary flight feathers are thickened, flattened and bent at an angle to give the distinctive feature which gives the sabrewings their English and scientific names (Greek καμπυλος kampylos, "bent", and πτερον pteron, "wing").

In some species, the male and female plumage is similar, in others, such as the violet sabrewing, the sexes look completely different. In several species, the three outer pairs of the tail feathers are broadly tipped white.

The food of sabrewings is nectar, taken mainly from undergrowth flowers such as Heliconia and bananas.

Taxonomy

The genus Campylopterus was erected by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827.[1] The type species was subsequently designated as the grey-breasted sabrewing (Campylopterus largipennis).[2] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek kampulos meaning "curved" or "bent" and -pteros meaning "-winged".[3]

The sombre hummingbird and swallow-tailed hummingbird, formerly classified in Campylopterus, have been reclassified by most authorities into their own monotypic genera Aphantochroa and Eupetomena.

The genus contains 9 species:[4]

ImageNameCommon nameDistribution
Campylopterus largipennisGray-breasted sabrewingBahia and Minas Gerais in eastern Brazil.
Campylopterus hemileucurusViolet sabrewingsouthern Mexico and Central America as far south as Costa Rica and western Panama.
Campylopterus hyperythrusRufous-breasted sabrewingBrazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
Campylopterus ensipennisWhite-tailed sabrewingnortheastern Venezuela and Tobago
Campylopterus falcatusLazuline sabrewingColombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela
Campylopterus phainopeplusSanta Marta sabrewingColombia.
Campylopterus villaviscensioNapo sabrewingColombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Campylopterus calcirupicolaOutcrop sabrewingBrazil
Campylopterus duidaeBuff-breasted sabrewingBrazil and Venezuela
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References
  1. Swainson, William John (1827). "On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined". Zoological Journal. 3: 343-363 [358].
  2. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 18.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Hummingbirds". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  • A guide to the birds of Costa Rica by Stiles and Skutch ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
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