Band-tailed Barbthroat
Threnetes ruckeri
The Band-tailed Barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri) is a rare hummingbird found in 9 countries, weighing about 5 g. The band-tailed barbthroat is a medium-sized hummingbird that is found from southeastern Guatemala and Belize to western Ecuador and western Venezuela.
About the Band-tailed Barbthroat
The band-tailed barbthroat is a medium-sized hummingbird that is found from southeastern Guatemala and Belize to western Ecuador and western Venezuela.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The band-tailed barbthroat is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh 5.5 to 7 g (0.19 to 0.25 oz) and females 5 to 7 g (0.18 to 0.25 oz).The adult male of the nominate subspecies has bronze-green upperparts, a dark ear patch and chin, and a dusky malar stripe. The tail is dark with white bases and tips to the feathers that create a black band near the end. The throat is ochraceous and the underparts are otherwise gray with some green feathers. It has a nearly straight bill. Voice: The band-tailed barbthroat's song is "a fast high-pitched phrase of some 5–10 notes repeated with intervals of several seconds...e.g. 'tzi-tzi-tsee-ee-tsi-tzi-tzi'." In Costa Rica the Pacific slope population has a more complex song than that of the Caribbean slope birds; it includes trills.
What the Band-tailed Barbthroat sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Band-tailed Barbthroat can be seen all year round, with peak activity in March. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Band-tailed Barbthroat?
- The band-tailed barbthroat is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Band-tailed Barbthroat?
- The Band-tailed Barbthroat is a tiny sized bird weighing about 5 g.
- Where can you see a Band-tailed Barbthroat?
- The Band-tailed Barbthroat occurs in 9 countries, including Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Honduras.
- What does a Band-tailed Barbthroat sound like?
- You can listen to a field recording of the Band-tailed Barbthroat on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Band-tailed Barbthroat?
- The Band-tailed Barbthroat is most easily confused with the Pale-tailed Barbthroat and the Sooty Barbthroat.
- Is the Band-tailed Barbthroat endangered?
- The Band-tailed Barbthroat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Band-tailed Barbthroat for real
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