Sappho sparganurus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The red-tailed comet (Sappho sparganurus) is a medium-sized hummingbird belonging to tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae, the "coquettes". It is found in Argentina and Bolivia and possibly Chile and Peru. The red-tailed comet was formally described in 1812 by the English naturalist George Shaw under the binomial name Trochilus sparganurus. The type locality is Bolivia. Some early twentieth century authors placed it in genus Lesbia. The red-tailed comet is now the only species in genus Sappho that was introduced in 1849 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name refers to Sappho, an ancient Greek poet of Lesbos. The specific epithet sparganurus combines the Ancient Greek σπαργανόω/spargaō meaning 'to wrap' and ουρά/oura meaning 'tail'.
In the early twentieth century at least one author treated the two as individual species. In at least part of its range it is known in the local Quechua language as Q'ori Kenti (lit. 'golden hummingbird'). It is called the picaflor cometa in Argentina.
Male red-tailed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mendoza | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet sighting in Cochabamba on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 88th most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet in Cochabamba on a given day, against under 5% in January–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-tailed Comet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Red-tailed Comet sightings, Cochabamba ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mendoza (Argentina, about 50%), La Paz (Bolivia, about 40%) and Cordoba (Argentina, about 20%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Red-tailed Comet that you can see in Cochabamba (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Glittering-bellied Emerald (about 50%), Sparkling Violetear (about 30%) and White-bellied Hummingbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-tailed Comet is recorded against all the birds logged in Cochabamba (10 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
