Locally fairly common within a tiny range (NE Venezuela coastal mountains + Tobago); a genuine range-restricted target and one of NE Venezuela's flagship endemics.
Field marks
Large (~12 cm, ~10 g), dark green sabrewing with a glittering violet-blue (navy/royal) throat in males (duller grayish in females) and bold, extensively white outer tail feathers — three pairs broadly white, very conspicuous in flight. Black, slightly decurved bill; thickened bent outer primaries.
Habitat
Humid montane and cloud forest, second growth, light woodland and shaded coffee/cacao, mostly 800–1,800 m on the mainland (most common ~1,000–1,600 m).
Behavior
Aggressive and conspicuous; defends flowering shrubs and Heliconia patches, often perching in the open. Flashes the white tail when displaying and chasing.
Voice
A series of sharp bisyllabic 'tzchink' / 'tschick' notes, loud for the bird's size; dry chips and chatters. Search 'Campylopterus ensipennis' on Xeno-canto and Macaulay Library / eBird (eBird code whtsab1).
Gray-breasted Sabrewing (Campylopterus largipennis) — grayer below, white restricted to tail corners not broad white panels; lacks blue gorget.
Green-throated Mango / large green hummingbirds — slimmer, lack the broad white tail and the thickened sabre primaries.
Guide note
Best taken on the Paria (Cerro Humo) or Caripe slopes at flowering shrubs and forest-edge Heliconia at dawn. NOTE for the curriculum: this is a coastal-cordillera (Caripe/Paria + Tobago) endemic, NOT a true Pantepui/tepui bird — category retained per spec, but flag the biogeography to trainees.
