Buff-tailed Sicklebill (Eutoxeres condamini)

Identification & Behavior: ~12.5 cm (5 in). The Buff-tailed Sicklebill is dark green above and dusky with light gray stripes below. It has two blue-green patches on the sides of the neck.  The tail is buff with broad white tips. The bill has the shape of a sickle with a yellow lower mandible. It forages in forest interior and edges where it is associated with stands of Heliconia spp. It is similar to the White-tipped Sicklebill but is distinguished by a buff tail, and blue patches on the lower side of the neck.

Status: The Buff-tailed Sicklebill is uncommon to rare on the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between approximately 400 to 2800 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Pico-de-Hoz de Cola Canela.

Sub-species: Buff-tailed Sicklebill (Eutoxeres condamini condamini) (Bourcier) 1851. E Andes from S Colombia (Caquetá) S to N Peru.
(Eutoxeres condamini gracilis), Berlepsch and Stolzmann 1902. E slope of Andes of Peru (S from Huánuco) and NW Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Eutoxeres: Gr. Eu=fine good, toxeres= archer, furnished with the bow. condamini: in honor of Charles Marie de la Condamine (1701-1774) French scientist, mathematician, explorer, traveller on the Amazon 1735-1743.

See more of the Family Trochilidae