Swallow-tailed Hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura)

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura)
(aka Campylopterus macrourus according to HBW Volume 5, Page 554, putting it in the same genus as they put the Sombre Hummingbird (Aphantochroa cirrhochloris)

Brazil

The Swallow-tailed Hummingbird is one of the largest hummingbirds at about 15 cms (6 inches) from tip of bill to tip of tail.

Its head and neck are deep violet-blue with the rest of its body bronzy-green. It has a slightly curved black bill and a long, deeply forked dark blue tail.

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, São Paulo, Brazil, July 2001 - click for larger image

Photos 7 and 8 are of the subspecies E. m. simoni, from north-east Brazil which has more bluish green on the underparts and on the back than the nominate subspecies of the other photos.

It likes a variety of habitats from forest to savanna and has colonised gardens and parks in cities. The first 4 photos were taken in the centre of São Paulo.

It is found in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia and ranges from sea-level to about 1,500 metres.

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, São Paulo, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image

It feeds on nectar and will chase most other hummingbirds away from its area quite fiercely. Swallow-tailed Hummingbirds also catch small insects and has been seen hunting insects until it was quite dark in the evening.

There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 5, Pages 470 and 552 and Sick, Plate 20.

There are recordings and a distribution map on xeno-canto .

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Aguas de São Pedro, São Paulo, Brazil, December 2006 - click for larger image

Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil, November 2008 - click for larger image

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