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Santa Marta Sabrewing

Campylopterus phainopeplus

Critically Endangered · IUCN Red List

CRCritically EndangeredEndemicNectarGrasslandCup nestTiny · 8 g
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 1
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 2
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 3
Photo: scaup · CC BY 4.0
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 4
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 5
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 6
Photo: (c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Santa Marta Sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus), photo 7
Photo: (c) scaup, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Santa Marta Sabrewing sounds like

Sonogram of the Santa Marta Sabrewing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Andrés M. Cuervo · Call, flight call, song · Cesar, Colombia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Santa Marta Sabrewing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Andrés M. Cuervo · Call · Cesar, Colombia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Santa Marta Sabrewing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Andrés M. Cuervo · Call, flight call · Cesar, Colombia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Santa Marta sabrewing is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long. Both sexes have a decurved black bill, with the female's having more curvature, and both have a white spot behind the eye. Males' upperparts are glittering emerald green. They have a black face; their throat and breast are iridescent blue and the rest of their underparts dark green. Their tail is dark steely blue. The female has shining green upperparts and mostly grayish white underparts with green flanks and undertail coverts. Its tail is mostly green with grayish tips on the outermost pair of feathers. Voice: As of mid-2022 only one recording of the Santa Marta sabrewing is known. It makes "a plaintive double 'twit-twit', both in flight and display."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Santa Marta Sabrewing

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 3 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

About the Santa Marta Sabrewing

The Santa Marta sabrewing is a Critically Endangered species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to the Guatapurí dry enclave on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, department of Cesar, northern Colombia. It is one of 24 bird species that are endemic to the Santa Marta highlands.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Buff-breasted SabrewingCampylopterus duidaeThe buff-breasted sabrewing is about 10 to 13 cm (3.9 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 5 to 7 g (0.18 to 0.25 oz). Diamantina Sabrewing (Campylopterus diamantinensis) Diamantina SabrewingCampylopterus diamantinensisThe Diamantina sabrewing is a large hummingbird, about 13.4 cm (5.3 in) long. Rufous-breasted Sabrewing (Campylopterus hyperythrus) Rufous-breasted SabrewingCampylopterus hyperythrusThe rufous-breasted sabrewing is 10.4 to 12 cm (4.1 to 4.7 in) long.

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