Campylopterus ensipennis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The white-tailed sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis) is a Near Threatened species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found on Tobago and in Venezuela. The white-tailed sabrewing is monotypic.
The white-tailed sabrewing is about 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh 9.5 to 10.5 g (0.34 to 0.37 oz) and females are assumed to be lighter. Both sexes have a black decurved bill and a white spot behind the eye. Males have glittering green upperparts, an iridescent blue to dark violet throat, and glittering green underparts. Their inner two pairs of tail feathers are dark bronzy green; the inner third of the length of the outer three pairs is black and the outer two thirds white. Females are similar but the blue of their throat is smaller and duller and their underparts are pale gray with green spots on the flanks.
The shafts of the outer flight feathers are thickened and flattened which gives the distinctive feature of the sabrewings their English and genus names. In this case, both parts of the scientific name refer to this feature, Campylopterus and ensipennis being derived from the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Sabrewing sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 703 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Sabrewing in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 40% in September, the lowest month.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-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.
Only Main Ridge Forest Reserve, in our data
Main Ridge Forest Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate White-tailed Sabrewing sightings: about 70% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the White-tailed Sabrewing that you can see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Copper-rumped Hummingbird (about 70%), Rufous-breasted Hermit (about 70%) and White-necked Jacobin (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-tailed Sabrewing is recorded against all the birds logged in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (703 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.
