Red-tailed Comet
Common name: Red-tailed Comet
Scientific name: Sappho sparganurus
Clades: Lesbiini - Coquettes
The Red-tailed Comet is a breathtaking hummingbird found in the Andes, ranging from central Bolivia to northern Argentina, and on isolated mountains in Córdoba. Preferring arid shrubby slopes often adorned with cacti, this species thrives at elevations up to 2000 meters in the south and even higher in the north. While primarily resident, some down-slope movement is observed in the northern part of its range in Bolivia.
The adult male Red-tailed Comet is a dazzling sight with a shining green head and a glittering golden green or emerald green gorget on the throat. The remaining underparts are green, complemented by buffy undertail coverts. The back and rump are a striking reddish purple. His tail is long and deeply forked, with rectrices that have blunt tips. The appearance of the tail feathers varies with the angle of light, shifting from reddish purple to green, each rectrix featuring a broad velvety-black or dusky purple tip.
The female is similar in pattern to the male but has a duller appearance and a shorter tail. Her upperparts, including the back, are shining green with reddish-purple confined to the rump. Her underparts are pale buff, finely speckled with green, and her lower belly is unspotted. The outer webs of her outer rectrices are white or buffy white.
The juveniles resemble the females but with duller backs (bronzy green) and only slightly coppery rumps. The white on their outer rectrices also extends distally to the inner webs and along the shafts.
The Red-tailed Comet is a radiant marvel, its vibrant colors and dynamic flight captivating all who are fortunate enough to observe it in the arid slopes of the Andes.
2 subspecies:
S. s. sparganurus
Distribution E slope of Andes in N Bolivia; possibly also extreme S Peru.S. s. sapho
Distribution E slope from C Bolivia (Cochabamba) S to N and W Argentina (Jujuy and Salta S to Neuquén).