Pampa curvipennis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sighting in Tikal National Park on a given day, based on 158 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 146th most-seen of the 300 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing in Tikal National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and November, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Wedge-tailed Sabrewing sightings, Tikal National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%) and Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing that you can see in Tikal National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 30%), White-bellied Emerald (about 30%) and Purple-crowned Fairy (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 Tikal National Park (158 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.
