Red-tailed Comet - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies sapho
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Tafi del Valle, Tucumán, Argentina, October 2019

Sappho sparganurus

Identification

Male 19–20 cm (7½-8 in), including tail of 7–10 cm: female 12–14 cm (4¾-5½ in) Male

• Long, iridescent, golden-reddish tail with prominent black bands at the end of each feather
  

Female: has red at base of shorter tail.

Distribution

South America: found in Bolivia and Argentina; accidental to Peru.

Taxonomy

Female
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Córdoba Province, Argentina, October, 2019

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• S. s. sparganurus:

• Andes of northern and central Bolivia; accidental southern Peru (Puno)

• S. s. sapho:

• Andes of southern Bolivia to western Argentina and northern Chile

Habitat

Forests, woodland and scrub.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of nectar from a variety of plants, including Dunalia.

Breeding

They construct a substantial cup-shaped nest formed from moss, lichen and animal hair. It is placed under rocks on steep hillsides.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Schuchmann, K.L. & Kirwan, G.M. (2020). Red-tailed Comet (Sappho sparganurus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55604 on 3 January 2020).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Red-tailed Comet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 December 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-tailed_Comet

External Links

Search for photos of Red-tailed Comet in the gallery