Snowy-bellied Hummingbird (Saucerottia edward) [XC31941]
by William Adsett from Parque Metropolitano, Panama, Panama (call)
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird (Saucerottia edward) [XC271041]
by Kent Livezey from Cerro Azul area, Panama (call)
Subspecies
Subspecies niveoventer has been considered a distinct species, based mainly on tail coloration and, in this character, lack of intergradation with other subspecies due to strictly allopatric distribution. Individuals with intermediate characters of subspecies edward and margaritarum have been reported from contact zone in eastern Panama. Two questionable subspecies were described from the mainland of Panama: the form crosbyi of Darién (eastern Panama) was separated by tail coloration from subspecies margaritarum, but is indistinguishable from it, as the characters of most individuals of the type series can be accounted for by juvenile plumage; ludibunda, described from a single specimen from Pesé in Azuero Peninsula (central Panama), was collected within the eastern range of niveoventer and represents an aberrant example of this subspecies.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
niveoventer (Gould, 1851) - South-western Costa Rica to western and central Panama, including Coiba I.
edward (DeLattre & Bourcier, 1846) - Panama, from Canal Zone to western Darién.
collata Wetmore, 1952 - Central Panama.
margaritarum (Griscom, 1927) - Northern Gulf of Panama, in Pearl Is and on Urabá I, Taboga I and Taboguilla I; eastern Panama to south-western Darién.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet