Sappho sparganurus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet sighting in Cordoba on a given day, based on 513 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 35th most-seen of the 176 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet in Cordoba on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months. That is one of Cordoba's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 130 mm in February.
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.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Red-tailed Comet sightings, Cordoba ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Mendoza (Argentina, about 50%) and La Paz (Bolivia, about 40%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Red-tailed Comet that you can see in Cordoba (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Glittering-bellied Emerald (about 30%) and Blue-tufted Starthroat (about 20%), 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 Cordoba (513 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.
