Pampa rufa
The Rufous Sabrewing (*Pampa rufa*) is a captivating medium-sized hummingbird, measuring 10-12 cm (4-4.7 inches) in length and weighing 6-8 grams. Its most striking feature is the extensive, rich rufous (reddish-brown) coloration covering its entire underparts, contrasting sharply with its iridescent bright green upperparts. Distinctive field marks include its long, noticeably decurved black bill, a small white post-ocular spot, and a rufous tail with dark tips, often held slightly fanned. Ta...
Found primarily in humid evergreen and cloud forests, forest edges, and shaded coffee plantations, typically at elevations between 900 and 2400 meters.
Feeds primarily on nectar from a variety of tubular flowers, supplemented by small insects and spiders gleaned from foliage or captured in flight.
This diurnal hummingbird exhibits a trap-lining foraging strategy, systematically visiting a circuit of flowering plants rather than defending a single patch, though males are known to aggressively defend choice flower resources from competitors. They forage at all forest levels but are often see...
The Rufous Sabrewing is a resident species found exclusively in the highlands of Central America, maintaining a relatively restricted but stable distribution. Its breeding and year-round range extends from the mountainous regions of southern Mexico (primarily Chiapas) southeast through Guatemala,...
Least Concern
- The Rufous Sabrewing was recently reclassified from the genus *Campylopterus* to *Pampa* based on genetic studies, highlighting ongoing discoveries in hummingbird taxonomy. - Its common name, 'sabrewing,' refers to the stiffened, flattened outer primary feathers found in some related species, t...