Sappho sparganurus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% 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 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet sighting in Mendoza on a given day, based on 232 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 14th most-seen of the 69 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Comet in Mendoza on a given day, against about 30% in October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Mendoza's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 10 mm in June.
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.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Red-tailed Comet sightings, Mendoza has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come 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 Mendoza (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Glittering-bellied Emerald (about 30%), Sparkling Violetear (about 10%) and Green-backed Firecrown (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 Mendoza (232 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.
