Discosura is a genus of South and Central American hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae. The thorntails are sometimes placed in the genus Popelairia (Reichenbach, 1854), leaving Discosura for the racket-tipped thorntail. On the contrary, some have argued for merging this genus into Lophornis, which they overall resemble, except for the highly modified tail-feathers of the males.

Taxonomy

The genus Discosura was introduced in 1850 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Bonaparte did not specify a type species but this was designated as the racket-tipped thorntail by George Robert Gray in 1855. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek diskos meaning "plate" with oura meaning "tail". The genus contains five species.