Streamertail
Trochilus polytmus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyTrochilidae (Hummingbirds)
- GenusTrochilus (Streamertails)
- SpeciesTrochilus polytmus (Streamertail)
About the Streamertail
The red-billed streamertail (Trochilus polytmus), also known as the doctor bird, or swallow tail hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of the subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Jamaica and is the national bird of the country.
The red-billed streamertail was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Trochilus polytmus. Linnaeus quoted the description in Latin by the Irish physician Patrick Browne in his The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica which had been published two years earlier in 1756. The specific epithet polytmus is from the Ancient Greek polutimos meaning "costly" or "valuable".
The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World, and the Clements taxonomy treat the red-billed streamertail and black-billed streamertail (T. scitulus) as separate species. However, the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society calls T. polytmus "streamertail" and assign the red-billed and black-billed forms to it as subspecies. The... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Streamertail in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park | 🇯🇲 Jamaica |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Streamertail in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Streamertail sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, based on 492 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Streamertail in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Streamertail in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park in our monthly data.