Wedge-tailed Sabrewing

Mexico

Jul 17

Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (Pampa curvipennis)

Name Origin:
The genus name Pampa is a modern reassignment within the Trochilini tribe, while the species name curvipennis derives from Latin curvus meaning “curved” and pennis meaning “wings,” referring to the species' notably arched wing shape.

Quick Facts

🪶 Length: 12.5–14 cm (4.9–5.5 in)
⚖️ Weight: 8.5–10 g (0.30–0.35 oz)
🌎 Range: Eastern and southern Mexico to northern Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras
🧭 Elevation: 200–1,800 m (660–5,900 ft)
🌸 Diet: Primarily nectar, also small insects
🏡 Habitat: Tropical and subtropical humid forests, edges, and second-growth
🧬 Clade: Trochilini – Emeralds
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN 2024)

Subspecies & Distribution

Pampa curvipennis curvipennis (Curve-winged)
Distribution: Eastern and southern Mexico from southwestern Tamaulipas through southeastern San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, and northeastern Puebla to northern Oaxaca.
Pampa curvipennis excellens (Long-tailed)
Distribution: Endemic to southeastern Mexico, centered around the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Jesús Carranza, and Uxpanapa in southern Veracruz and eastern Oaxaca.
Pampa curvipennis pampa (Wedge-tailed)
Distribution: Yucatán Peninsula south into northern Guatemala and Belize, extending east into Honduras.

Species Overview

The Wedge-tailed Sabrewing is a large, robust hummingbird with dramatic wing and tail shapes, found in humid lowland and foothill forests of Mesoamerica. Males are striking, with shimmering green upperparts, a flaring violet gorget, and a wedge-shaped tail with dark central feathers and white tips on the outer ones. Females are similar but duller and lack the prominent throat patch.

This species is highly vocal, often heard before seen, and participates in leks where males gather to display and sing to attract females. It feeds by trap-lining a circuit of flowering plants, as well as hawking small insects mid-air.

Conservation Note

Although considered Least Concern, the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing is sensitive to habitat degradation. Fragmentation of tropical forests, particularly in Veracruz and Oaxaca, may locally impact populations. However, its adaptability to secondary growth and edge habitats provides some buffer against decline. Conservation of continuous forest tracts remains essential to preserving lekking grounds and long-term viability of the species.

Below is the Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (Pampa curvipennis curvipennis)

Photographed at Chavarrillo, Veracruz, Mexico, Emiliano Zapata, Veracruz

These individuals belong to the subspecies curvipennis (Curve-winged), which is found across eastern and southern Mexico, including southwestern Tamaulipas, southeastern San Luis Potosí, and south through Veracruz and northeastern Puebla to northern Oaxaca. It inhabits humid tropical and subtropical forest edges, second-growth, and plantations, usually at low to mid elevations. This form is large and vocal, with broad rounded wings and a deeply notched tail, showing a shimmering green body, pale underside, and a violet-purple gorget that flares when displaying.