Pampa curvipennis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 4 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 5 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 622 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 48th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March and May
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in July to October, the lowest months. Those are among Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against 230 mm in June.
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.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are White-bellied Emerald (about 40%), Cinnamon Hummingbird (about 40%) and Buff-bellied Hummingbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (622 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.
