Calothorax is a genus of birds in the hummingbird family Trochilidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Calothorax was introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray with the lucifer sheartail as the type species. The name combines the Ancient Greek kalos meaning "beautiful" with thōrax meaning "breast".

The genus contains two species:

Genus Calothorax – G.R. Gray, 1840 – two species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Beautiful sheartailCalothorax pulcher Gould, 1859southern-central Mexico.Size: Habitat: Diet:LC
Lucifer sheartail Male FemaleCalothorax lucifer (Swainson, 1827)southwestern United States, from southwest Texas, extreme southwestern New Mexico to extreme southeastern Arizona, and in central and north Mexico.Size: Habitat: Diet:LC