Sappho sparganurus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet sighting in La Paz on a given day, based on 136 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 88 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet in La Paz on a given day, against about 20% in January, the lowest month.
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.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Red-tailed Comet sightings, La Paz ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Mendoza (Argentina, about 50%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Red-tailed Comet that you can see in La Paz (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Giant Hummingbird (about 60%) and Sparkling Violetear (about 60%), 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 La Paz (136 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.
