Campylopterus hemileucurus
The Violet Sabrewing, *Campylopterus hemileucurus*, is a large, striking hummingbird renowned for its iridescent plumage and distinctive flight feathers. Males are arguably among the most brilliantly colored hummingbirds, adorned in a deep, shimmering violet that covers nearly their entire body, contrasted by dark green wings. Females, though less flamboyant, exhibit elegant green upperparts and grayish underparts, with both sexes prominently displaying characteristic white undertail coverts-...
This species primarily inhabits humid montane evergreen and cloud forests, favoring forest edges, clearings, and mature secondary growth at high elevations.
Its diet primarily consists of nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants, supplemented by small insects and spiders gleaned from foliage or caught in flight.
Violet Sabrewings are diurnal, typically roosting in dense vegetation during the night. They are adept foragers, employing a 'traplining' strategy where they repeatedly visit a circuit of flower patches, defending choice nectar sources aggressively, especially males. During the breeding season, m...
The Violet Sabrewing is a resident species found throughout its range, which extends from southern Mexico (in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas) southward through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and into central Costa Rica and western Panama. Its distribution primarily follows the Pac...
Least Concern
- The 'Sabre' in its name refers to the distinctive stiff, flattened, and curved outer primary wing feathers, particularly prominent in males. - It is one of the largest hummingbird species found in Central America, typically measuring 13-15 cm, second only to some Giant Hummingbird species. - Ma...