Red-billed Streamertail - BirdForum Opus

Trochilus polytmus

Photo by Jan Van den Broeck

Fieldmarks :

Adult male - 8.5-10 ins (22-cm) with tail plumes; iridescent green body, black tail, head and nape; bill red with black tip. Immature male similar colouring but without the long tail plumes. Female - 4 ins (10.5cm); white underparts, green upperparts, dark tail feathers with white tips; bill red at base, but sometimes appears black.

Voice :

a loud metallic teet or ting and a prolonged twink-twink-twink.... The male's streamers hum in flight.

Habitat :

mainly middle and high-elevation forests, woods, open scrub and gardens; seasonal on the coast.

Range :

a widespread endemic in Jamaica, but absent from the extreme east, where the Black-billed Streamertail (T. scitulus) is found.

Taxonomy :

the Red-billed and Black-billed Streamertails were once considered races of the Streamertail (T. polytmus) as they intergrade in areas of contact.

Identification

Photographed: Jamaica

External Links

• View more images of Red-billed Streamertail in the gallery

The Red-billed_Streamertail was the bird of the month of the Society for Conservation and study of Caribbean Birds recently *this ; is a relatively complete presentation of the species.