Wedge-tailed Sabrewing

Wedge-tailed Sabrewing

Pampa curvipennis

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

11 Verified sightings at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary From 2019 to 2026
1,113 In all 5 parks
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing

The wedge-tailed sabrewing (Pampa curvipennis) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and possibly Honduras. Two subspecies have sometimes been treated as separate species, the curve-winged sabrewing and the long-tailed sabrewing.

The wedge-tailed sabrewing was formally described in 1830 under the binomial name Trochilus curvipennis by the German accountant Wilhelm Deppe in a price list of specimens that had been collected in Mexico by Wilhelm's brother Ferdinand Deppe. The specific epithet combines the Latin curvus meaning "curved" with -pennis meaning "-winged". The wedge-tailed sabrewing is now placed with the rufous sabrewing in the genus Pampa that was introduced in 1854 by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.

This species was formerly placed in the genus Campylopterus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Campylopterus was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the wedge-tailed sabrewing was moved to the resurrected genus Pampa.

Three subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:16

Mexico · 2021

© Manuel Grosselet · XC615194 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:35

Mexico · 2016

© James Bradley · XC305837 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:29

Mexico · 2000

© Peter Boesman · XC220183 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
2 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
3 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%
4 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
5 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sighting in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 236th most-seen of the 277 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary the best place to see a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing?

5th of 5

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sightings, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%), Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%) and Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing live in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?

Same family: Trochilidae

The closest relatives of the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing that you can see in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 60%), Stripe-throated Hermit (about 40%) and Long-billed Hermit (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing is recorded against all the birds logged in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.

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