Great Sapphirewing

About the Great Sapphirewing

The great sapphirewing (Pterophanes cyanopterus) is a species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The great sapphirewing is the only member of its genus. In the late 1900s it was suggested that Pterophanes be merged into genus Coeligena, but later work showed that those genera are not closely related. The species has three subspecies, the nominate P. c. cyanopterus, P. c. caeruleus, and P. c. peruvianus.

The great sapphirewing has also been called Temminck's sapphirewing, páramo sapphirewing, and simply sapphirewing. The great sapphirewing is one of the largest hummingbirds; only the two of genus Topaza and the giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) are larger. It is 15.5 to 19 cm (6.1 to 7.5 in) long including the 3.6 cm (1.4 in) bill. Males weigh between 9.6 and 11.2 g (0.34 and 0.40 oz) and females 8.4 to 11 g (0.30 to 0.39 oz). Both sexes have a small white spot behind the eye. Males of the nominate subspecies have dark shining blue-green upperparts. The wing is mostly shining blue and the tail greenish black. The underparts are also blue-green... Wikipedia →