Napo Sabrewing (Campylopterus villaviscensio)

Identification & Behavior: ~13.5 m (5.3 in). The male Napo Sabrewing is mostly green with iridescent blue on the throat and breast. The female is green above and uniformly green below. The tail in both sexes is mostly dusky, but only the female has gray tips on the tail feathers.  The bill in both sexes is black and slightly decurved. The male is similar to the Green-backed Hillstar but is larger with a dark tail. The female is similar to the Gray-breasted Sabrewng, but is darker below, has small white spots in the tail, and has a green cap. Also, see a female Fork-tailed Woodnymph.

Status: The Napo Sabrewing is rare on the east slope of the northern Andes where it ranges at elevations between 1050 – 1400 m. It also occurs in Ec.

Name in Spanish: Ala-de-Sable del Napo.

Sub-species: Napo Sabrewing (Campylopterus villaviscensio), Bourcier, 1851.

Meaning of Name: Campylopterus: Gr. Kampulos= curved, bent and pteros, pteron= winged, wing. villaviscensio: In honor of Manuel Villavicencio Montúfar (1804-1871) Ecuadorean geographer, explorer, botanist, collector.

See more of the Family Trochilidae