Bird Guide

Buff-winged Starfrontlet vs Great Sapphirewing

Buff-winged Starfrontlet (Coeligena lutetiae)

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

Coeligena lutetiae

Tiny7 gForest

The buff-winged starfrontlet is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long. Males weigh 6.9 to 7.2 g (0.24 to 0.25 oz) and females about 6.6 g (0.23 oz). Both sexes have a long, black, slightly upturned bill and a white spot behind the eye. Both sexes have a forked tail though the female's is not as deeply indented as the male's. Males of the nominate subspecies has velvety black upperparts with a glittering green forehead. They have a violet gorget and the rest of the underparts are dark green. The wings are dark with a large cinnamon-buff patch and the tail is bronzy black. Voice: The buff-winged starfrontlet makes a "thin, wiry chatter with rattles", often during territorial disputes. While feeding it often repeats "a characteristic, nasal 'unk'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Buff-winged Starfrontlet
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Flight call · Pichincha: Yanacocha, Volcán Pichincha, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Don Henise · CC BY 2.0
Great Sapphirewing (Pterophanes cyanopterus)

Great Sapphirewing

Pterophanes cyanopterus

Tiny9 gForest

The great sapphirewing is one of the largest hummingbirds; only the two of genus Topaza and the giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) are larger. It is 15.5 to 19 cm (6.1 to 7.5 in) long including the 3.6 cm (1.4 in) bill. Males weigh between 9.6 and 11.2 g (0.34 and 0.40 oz) and females 8.4 to 11 g (0.30 to 0.39 oz). Both sexes have a small white spot behind the eye. Males of the nominate subspecies have dark shining blue-green upperparts. The wing is mostly shining blue and the tail greenish black. The underparts are also blue-green but somewhat bluer than the upperparts. Voice: The great sapphirewing's vocalizations include "a high, thin, liquid chatter", a "drawn-out piercing high-pitched zeee", and " agitated titititirrr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Great Sapphirewing
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Pichincha: Yanacocha, Volcán Pichincha, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Giovanni Bermúdez Bohórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Giovanni Bermúdez Bohórquez · cc-by

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Buff-winged Starfrontlet and Great Sapphirewing.