Red-tailed comet

Red-tailed comet
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
	CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Strisores
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Tribe:	Lesbiini
Genus:	Sappho; Reichenbach, 1849
Species:	S. sparganurus
Binomial name
	Sappho sparganurus; (Shaw, 1812)
	Distribution map
Synonyms
	Trochilus sparganurus ( protonym); Sappho sparganura

The red-tailed comet (Sappho sparganurus) is a medium-sized hummingbird belonging to tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae, the "coquettes".^[3] It is found in Argentina and Bolivia and possibly Chile and Peru.^[1]

Taxonomy and systematics

The red-tailed comet was

specific epithet sparganurus combines the Ancient Greek σπαργανόω/spargaō meaning 'to wrap' and ουρά/oura meaning 'tail'.^{[citation needed}

]

The red-tailed comet has two subspecies, the

nominate S. s. sparganurus (Shaw, 1812) and S. s. sapho (Lesson, R, 1828).^[3] In the early twentieth century at least one author treated the two as individual species.^[6]

In at least part of its range it is known in the local

Quechua language as Q'ori Kenti (lit. 'golden hummingbird').^{[citation needed]} It is called the picaflor cometa in Argentina.^[8]

Description

Male red-tailed comets are 19 to 20 cm (7.5 to 7.9 in) long including their 7 to 10 cm (2.8 to 3.9 in) tail. Females are 12 to 14 cm (4.7 to 5.5 in) long. The species weighs about 4 to 6.5 g (0.14 to 0.23 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a shining green head with a golden green or emerald green

coverts. Their tail is long and deeply forked. Its upper surface looks reddish purple to green depending on the angle of the light striking it. The tail feathers have a wide velvety black to dusky purple tip. Adult females are overall duller than males and have a shorter tail. Their head and back are shining green and their rump reddish purple. Their throat and underparts are pale buff with small green speckles on the throat, breast, and upper belly. Their outer tail feathers have white or buffy white outer webs. Juveniles are similar to adult females but have dull bronzy green upperparts with a slightly coppery rump and more white on their outer tail feathers. Subspecies S. s. sapho is paler than the nominate and is golden orange where the nominate is reddish purple. Both sexes of both subspecies have a reddish brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.^[8]^[9]

Distribution and habitat

Sources do not agree on the red-tailed comet's range. According to the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society it is found only in Argentina and Brazil.^[10] Other taxonomic systems and authors add to its range Chile^[3]^[9], possibly Peru but not Chile^[8], both Chile and Peru^[11], or Peru and possibly Chile.^[12] The sources also differ in the distributions of the two subspecies. The nominate subspecies is variously placed in northern Bolivia and possibly extreme southern Peru^[8], in northern and central Bolivia^[3]^[9], and in northern and central Bolivia and accidentally in southern Peru^[11]. Subspecies S. s. sapho is variously placed in central Bolivia and northern and western Argentina^[8], in southern Bolivia, northern and western Argentina, and east-central Chile^[3]^[9], and from southern Bolivia to western Argentina and northern Chile^[11].

The red-tailed comet inhabits arid montane scrublands on the eastern slope of the Andes and in

valleys within the Andes. The landscape is characterized by scattered trees, a bushy understorey, and dense tangles in ravines. It also occurs in Polylepis woodlands. In elevation it ranges moslty between 1,500 and 4,200 m (4,900 and 13,800 ft) but has been reported as low as 400 m (1,300 ft).^[8]^[9]

Behavior

Movement

The red-tailed comet is mostly a year-round resident but is known to make elevational movements in Bolivia.[8]

Feeding

The red-tailed comet feeds primarily on nectar and also includes small arthropods in its diet. It collects nectar both while hovering and while perched; it captures arthropods in flight and sometimes by gleaning them from vegetation.^[8] Males defend flower patches as feeding territory.^[9]

Breeding

The red-tailed comet's breeding season has not been fully defined. It is reported to span October to December in Argentina and seems to include April to June in Bolivia. As is true of all hummingbirds, the female makes the nest, incubates the eggs, and cares for nestlings. The nest is a bulky cup of moss, lichen, and amimal hair. It is usually placed in a niche on a rock wall but sometimes in a tree. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation period is 19 to 20 days and fledging occurs 31 to 32 days after hatch.^[8]^[9] One researcher documented a case in which a female began a second brood in a separate nest before its first brood fledged. It successfully raised all four young. The two nests were built near each other under the eave of a house.^[13]

Songs and calls

Listen to red-tailed comet on xeno-canto

Vocalization

What is thought to be the red-tailed comet's song is "a short, rapid, jumbled chatter". It also makes an "unmelodic tjrrrt" and "rather harsh tsha or zack notes, which may be monotonously repeated at more than 1 s intervals".^[8]

Status

The

IUCN has assessed the red-tailed comet as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.^[1] It is considered fairly common throughout its main range.^[8]

Gallery

Illustration from Kunstformen der Natur (1904)
Sappho sparganurus. Museum specimen
Museum specimen
Museum specimen
A male red-tailed comet in Cordoba, Argentina.

References

^
doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22687977A93177874.en
. Retrieved 9 April 2024.

^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^
Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Hummingbirds"
. IOC World Bird List. v 14.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

^ Shaw, George (1812). General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol. 8, Part 1. London: Kearsley et al. p. 291, Plate 39.
^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 116.
^ ^a ^b Cory, C.B. 1918. Catalogue of birds of the Americas. Field Museum Nat. History Publ., Zool. Ser., vol. 13, pt. 2, no. 1.
^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1849). Avium Systema Naturale (in German). Dresden and Leipzig: Friedrich Hofmeister. Plate XL.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Schulenberg, T. S. and A. Jaramillo (2020). Red-tailed Comet (Sappho sparganurus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.retcom1.01 retrieved April 9, 2024
^
ISBN 978-0-06-228064-0
.

^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 4 March 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved March 5, 2024
^ ^a ^b ^c Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023
^ BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sappho sparganurus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-tailed-comet-sappho-sparganurus on 09/04/2024.
^ Sferco, Guillermo (2018). "Alternate care of two nests by a Red-tailed Comet (Sappho sparganurus)". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 130 (1): 335–336.