# Swallow-tailed Hummingbird

*Eupetomena macroura*

Despite its tiny size, this hummingbird is incredibly aggressive and will boldly dive-bomb and chase away hawks, toucans, and other birds many times its size.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Apodiformes › Trochilidae › Eupetomena
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Semi-open countryside, forest edges, parks, gardens, Cerrado, and caatinga shrublands.
- **Diet:** Nectar from a wide variety of flowers, supplemented by small insects and spiders caught mid-air.
- **Range:** Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Suriname, Peru
- **Size:** 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) in length, weighing 8 to 9 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 8 to 10 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, heavy pesticide use which reduces insect prey, and urbanization.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These birds are extremely bold and may fly very close to inspect humans. Maintain a respectful distance of 2-3 meters to avoid disrupting their feeding. If one approaches, remain still and enjoy the encounter. They do not pose any threat of biting or stinging.

## About

The swallow-tailed hummingbird ( Eupetomena macroura ) is a species in the hummingbird family (Trochilidae), found mainly in east-central South America. Most authorities place it in the genus Eupetomena , although some place it in Campylopterus based on song and the thick shafts of the males' first primaries. Its common name and specific epithet (which means "large-tailed") both refer to the long, deeply forked, somewhat swallow-like tail.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/f408cade-413d-448f-a2a5-d5ddd6e33074
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/6065
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eupetomena macroura
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/28098272/medium.jpeg (Diana Fuentes, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.