Grey-breasted Sabrewing

Overview

The Campylopterus largipennis is a large hummingbird species belonging to the tribe Trochilini. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated population of at least three million mature individuals.

Identification

• A large hummingbird, 12.4 to 14.9 cm long, with slightly decurved bill; the maxilla is black and the mandible pinkish with a black tip.
• Nominate subspecies display dark shining green upperparts and dark grey underparts, distinguished by a white spot behind the eye.
• Central tail feathers are green, while the outer tail feathers are bluish black on the inner half and white on the outer half, though subspecies C. l. obscurus may have grey ends.
• Vocalisations consist of repeated short 'chik' or 'trzik' calls, occasionally in a faster stuttering series, or a song delivered as a regular continuous series.

Habitat

Found in humid primary and secondary forests, clearings, and plantations between elevations of 100 and 800 m. Its range includes parts of Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is a year-round resident throughout this distribution.

Diet

Forages for nectar at low to medium heights on a variety of flowering plants, with males defending feeding territories. It also captures small insects by hawking from a perch.

Did you know?

The bird constructs a cup nest of moss lined with soft seed material, which it decorates on the outside with lichen and places near waterfalls or running streams.