Fun Violet Sabrewing Facts For Kids

There are a total of 300 hummingbird species. The violet sabrewing is also known by its scientific name Campylopterus hemileucurus and is a large hummingbird species. This bird is native to southern Mexico, Central America, western Panama, and Costa Rica. They play a crucial role in the pollination of neotropical plants by helping facilitate pollination.

Violet sabrewings live near streams and near wooded areas. In most instances, these birds are seen in higher range elevations i.e. 1500-2,200 m but they may descend to lower elevations outside the breeding season.

They differ from other species of hummingbirds being protective and aggressive about their territory and feeding on flowers, although violet sabrewings are not aggressive about that. Here are some fun and interesting facts and information about the unique and beautiful hummingbirds. If you like this article, then visit umbrellabird and hummingbird facts too.

Violet Sabrewing Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a violet sabrewing?

The violet sabrewing is a type of bird and belongs to the kingdom Animalia.

What class of animal does a violet sabrewing belong to?

These hummingbirds belong to the class Aves and are a type of bird that feeds on flowers nectar and also on insects.

How many violet sabrewings are there in the world?

The exact number of violet sabrewings in the world is not determined. There exists a total of 300 species of hummingbirds.

Where does a violet sabrewing live?

Violet sabrewings exist in the forest i.e. the woods as well as mountainous regions and specifically near streams of water. They stay on higher elevations in most instances and come down to lower elevations only when breeding season or migration happens.

What is a violet sabrewing's habitat?

Violet sabrewings are found in mountainous regions. They like higher elevations as compared to other regions and come down to lower elevations in rare cases i.e. during the breeding season when they build nests near streams. Since they are large hummingbirds they are more prone to attack from predators.

Who do violet sabrewings live with?

Violet sabrewings are solitary birds and do not live together unless they come together for mating, are taking care of their young ones, or migrating. They are innately wild birds hence they are seldom seen around humans.

How long does a violet sabrewing live?

The violet sabrewing is known to live from three to five years. The oldest hummingbird was a broad-tailed female hummingbird that scientists banded in 1976 in the state of Colorado. She lived a total of 12 years and two months.

How do they reproduce?

The mating season is usually in and around the rainy season in the months of May to August. They usually breed twice per season. These species are polygynous.

Males form a group of 6-10 and sing loudly. Upon hearing the mating call females begin to build nests using small twigs and plant material. The pairs remain together only until the fertilization.

The female lays two eggs in a clutch. Males abandon the nests leaving females to incubate the eggs for 20 days and care for the offspring. Females also feed the young ones spiders and fluids.

About eleven days later nestlings reach their full body mass. These nestlings then fledge for 18-25 days after leaving the nest. Females then mate again and lay nests close to or on top of the first.

What is their conservation status?

The violet sabrewing is classified as a Least Concern species by the International Union For Conservation Of Nature (IUCN).

Violet Sabrewing Fun Facts

What do violet sabrewings look like?

The Campylopterus hemileucurus is a large hummingbird species and is brilliantly colored. They are best defined by their name itself.

They are dark violet in color and have bright blue wings mixed with dark green back and wing coverts which help them camouflage in forest areas. Sabrewing means its flat and thick shafts on its outer primary flight feathers. The tail pattern is the same as the male's i.e.

a blackish tail with white corners. They are a size similar to that of a sparrow. They have a strong and long curved bill similar to that of a hermit their facial features are similar to other hummingbird species.

The female's bill is specially curved. Their eyes are usually dark blue-purple in color and they recognize humans well.

How cute are they?

Hummingbirds are extremely unique, beautiful and cute birds to see. They are primarily admired for their beauty.  These birds are also seen foraging in banana plantations and range from southern Mexico to western Panama.

How do they communicate?

They communicate primarily via songs and calls. They also make use of visual, auditory, and chemical stimuli. These calls are commonly short sharp twitters or 'chip' sounds made with visiting flowers to feed the young nestlings by their mothers. The call of the violet sabrewing is a sharp twitter, and the song of the male is high pitched.

Males usually generate songs in groups in order to attract females. These birds possess ultraviolet light perception which aids the foraging of nectar. In addition, their hearing is fine-tuned.

How big is a violet sabrewing?

The violet sabrewing is 4.7-6 in (12-15 cm) in size which is five times bigger compared to the smallest bird in the world the bee hummingbird which is 2.4 in (5-6.1 cm) tall.

How fast can a violet sabrewing fly?

These small birds can flutter wings at speeds of 60-80 times per second which is relatively fast as compared to various other species of birds.

How much does a violet sabrewing weigh?

Violet sabrewing adult females are 0.3 oz (9.5 g) while adult males weigh 0.4 oz (11.5 g). The heaviest species of hummingbirds are the giant hummingbirds which weigh 0.7 lb (20 g).

What are their male and female names of the species?

Male and female hummingbirds are not addressed differently however there is one factor that helps identify the difference between the two which is their weight. Males are slightly bigger and heavier in size as compared to their female counterparts.

What would you call a baby violet sabrewing?

A baby violet sabrewing is referred to as an egg when born and a nestling once they hatch. The young nestling is born without feathers and develops those over time.

In the initial months of their life, they are completely dependant on their mothers for food and other needs. They leave their nests once they are capable of flying and hunting themselves.

What do they eat?

They are primarily omnivores and their diet includes both flowers and insects. They look for food in a regular pattern i.e.

by visiting the same flowers along a long trail for nectar and also consume insects like flies, spiders, wasps, bees, and ants. They specifically enjoy Heliconia and banana flowers. Apart from this, they may also visit flowers open at night for bats like the Vriesea nephrolepis.

Are they dangerous?

They are not dangerous or harmful to humans. Hummingbirds feeds on all levels of flowers hence its likely for one to see them if you are visiting or live in a region native to these birds.

It's essential to keep a distance while watching these birds as their immediate response is flight if posed in a position of threat. If threatened they are known to attack humans.

Would they make a good pet?

These birds are innately wild birds and hence they wouldn't make good pets.

Illegal means have been utilized in the past to capture birds and hold them in captivity however, this impacts their health and lifespan negatively hence it's best to observe them in their natural habitat or in a forest or conservation center where these birds are native to the region.

Did you know...

In the year 1557, a journal written by Jean de Lery was published including experiences of his travels to Brazil. This was the first time hummingbirds were described in history.

This was the first time the old world came across such a species. This information soon gained popularity and in the year 1851, The Crystal Palace located in London exhibited more than 300 species of hummingbirds which Queen Victoria attended herself.

The violet sabrewing Macaulay library history is rooted in birds. It also has collections on amphibians, mammals, fishes, and the collection preserves recordings of each species behavior and natural history. This library was built in honor of two avid birders Linda and William Macaulay and were instrumental in creation of appropriate content.

How is the female violet sabrewing different?

Apart from the fact that males are larger in size as compared to females, female bird species also have different colorations. Females tend to be more greenish on their ventral side.

Both of them are easily recognized by their distinctive violent throats. Apart from this most other features are similar in nature. Juvenile birds lack coloration as compared to adult birds.

Are violet sabrewings aggressive?

The Campylopterus hemileucurus are protective of their territories, food and other things but not as much as compared to other species of hummingbirds. They can be aggressive towards their prey.

Mothers are particular in feeding their young ones a rich diet including spiders and hence are skillful in killing their prey.

They coexist with other species in the wild, although they would feel best if left alone since they are solitary birds and only come together in breeding season or during migration.

A little aggression is seen in varying intensities in all species of animals however, violent sabrewings are unique and beautiful bird species with their sharp twitter and 'chip' sounds. Next time you come across a violet hummingbird species or any other species of hummingbirds keep a keen eye to identify them.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including Cooper’s hawk or Spix's macaw.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our violet sabrewing coloring pages.