They are the most abundant and widespread member of the hummingbird family on the island of Jamaica, where the streamertail is also the national bird. Incidentally, the bird known to scientists as Trochilus polytmus, is the name-bearer of the whole hummingbird family, the Trochilidae. Formerly believed to be conspecific with the Black-billed Streamertail of extreme eastern Jamaica, the latter is now considered a distinct species (Trochilus scitulus). Thus, T. polytmus occurs west of a line from Morant Bay following the Morant River, and via Ginger House and the middle Rio Grande to Port Antonio (Gill et al., 1973).
