Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Amazilia tzacatl
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- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyTrochilidae (Hummingbirds)
- GenusAmazilia
- SpeciesAmazilia tzacatl (Rufous-tailed Hummingbird)
About the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
The rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) is a medium-sized hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from east-central Mexico through Central America and Colombia into Ecuador and Venezuela.
The rufous-tailed hummingbird was formally described in 1833 by the Mexican naturalist Pablo de La Llave. He placed it in the genus Trochlilus and coined the binomial name Trochilus tzacatl. The rufous-tailed hummingbird is now placed in the genus Amazilia and was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The genus name comes from the Inca heroine in Jean-François Marmontel's novel Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'Empire du Pérou. The specific epithet is from Aztec mythology: Tzacatl was a warrior chief.
The rufous-tailed hummingbird has these five recognized subspecies: A. t. tzacatl (La Llave, 1833) A. t. handleyi Wetmore, 1963 A. t. fuscicaudata (Fraser, 1840) A. t. brehmi Weller & Schuchmann, 1999 A. t. jucunda (Heine, 1863)
A. t. handleyi was originally described as a separate species, the Escudo hummingbird. At least one author treated the rufous-tailed hummingbird and the chestnut-bellied hummingbird (Saucerottia... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Rufous-tailed Hummingbird in Sierra de la Macarena National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Sierra de la Macarena National Park
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Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.