Blue-tailed Hummingbird

Photo by tomjenner
Tarrales, Guatemala, Jan 2004

Amazilia cyanura

Saucerottia cyanura

Identification

A fairly typical Amazilia hummingbird in shape and structure. In indirect sunlight appears all dark, except for white thighs. Underparts and most of upperparts green. Rump purplish and tail deep blue throughout.
Male A. c. guatemalae has a small rufous flash in the wings, which is reduced or absent in females. A. c. cyanura has a bold rufous patch over much of the wing in both sexes.

The closely related Steely-vented Hummingbird to the south in Nicaragua and Costa Rica (where occasional records of Blue-tailed are made) lacks rufous in the wings.

Hybrids with Berylline Hummingbird are reasonably common (only reported within the range of A. c. cyanura), which have some blue and some rufous feathers in the tail.

Distribution

Very limited distribution with the two subspecies located in two separate areas. A. c. guatemalae is found in a tiny area along the Pacific slope of Guatemala and the southern tip of Oaxaca in Mexico. A. c. cyanura is found in eastern El Salvador, southern Honduras (and a few scattered location further inland) and western Nicaragua.

Taxonomy

Two distinct subspecies are described (A. c. guatemalae to the north and west and A. c. cyanura to the south and east), which may be sufficiently different to consider them as different species. However the almost complete lack of knowledge of the biology of both species makes the taxonomic status difficult to determine. A. c. cyanura often hybridizes with the closely related Berylline Hummingbird Amazilia beryllina. Formerly named Saucerottia cyanura.

Subspecies^[1]

Three subspecies recognised by Clements (though not by all authorities^[2],[3]:

• A. c. guatemalae:

• Pacific slope of southern Mexico (south-eastern Chiapas) to southern Guatemala

• A. c. cyanura:

• Southern Honduras to eastern El Salvador and north-western Nicaragua

• A. c. impatiens:

• North-western and central Costa Rica

Habitat

Humid evergreen forest and edge, coffee plantations.

Behaviour

Tend to be found on fairly low vegetation either deep within forest or at forest edge. Sing from low bushes in open areas at forest edge. Several records from Costa Rica of the southern form A. c. cyanura suggest that it might be partially migratory.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Tom Jenner
3. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-tailed Hummingbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-tailed_Hummingbird

External Links

A page on this species with photos can be found on http://tomjenner.com/mayanbirding/thebirds_blue_tail_humm.html

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