Red-tailed comet


The red-tailed comet is a medium-sized hummingbird belonging to the family Trochilidae.

Etymology and local names

The genus name refers to Sappho, an ancient Greek poet of Lesbos. The species name sparganus derives from the Greek words σπαργανόω and ουρά, meaning "decorated tail".
In at least part of its range it is known in the local Quechua language as Q'ori Kenti. It is called the picaflor cometa in Spanish.

Subspecies

Subspecies include:
This species can be found in the central Andes of Bolivia and Argentina, in Chile and in Peru.

Habitat

Common to frequent in the woodlands and scrub typical of the dry Interandean valles extended up into Polylepis forests, and into the shrubby transition zones to high elevation puna or the moister cloud forests. These hummingbirds live in arid scrub with cacti and Prosopis trees and in deciduous forests with Alnus and Podocarpus. It is frequently found around human habitation in agricultural areas, cities and towns.

Description

Sappho sparganurus is one of the largest hummingbirds, and males reaching a length of 22 cm, females up to 15 cm. The plumage of males is largely green, with a shining gorget. The head is green, while the back and rump are reddish violet. The male has a deeply forked, spectacular, long, iridescent, golden-reddish tail, longer than the length of the body, while the female has a shorter reddish-bronze tail. The species has a hoarse chattery call.

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