Hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, including the Caribbean. The majority of species occur in tropical and subtropical Central and South America.
Hummingbirds are are among the smallest of birds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species). They can also fly backwards, and are
the only group of birds able to do so. They can fly at speeds exceeding 50 km/h (30 mi/h).
Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside flowers. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so they also prey on insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. When hummingbirds feed on nectar, the bill is usually only opened slightly, allowing the tongue to dart out and into the interior of flowers. Most hummingbirds have bills that are long and straight or nearly so, but in some species the bill shape is adapted for specialized feeding. Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive; the majority of their activity
consists simply of sitting or perching. With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings. Their heart rate can reach over 1000 beats per minute.
The hummingbirds are presented in 7 web pages:
1)
Barbthroat, Hermit, Jacobian, Sicklebill, Topaz
2)
Carib, Fairy, Goldenthroat, Mango, Violetear, Visorbearer 3)
Comet, Coquette, Firecrown, Sunangel, Sylph, Thorntail
4)
Helmetcrest, Hillstar, Metaltail, Puffleg, Thornbill 5)
Brilliant, Coronet, Inca, Starfrontlet, Sunbeam
6)
Mountain-gem, Starthroat, Sheartail, Woodstar 7)
Emerald, Plumeleteer, Sabrewing, Woodnymph
Barbthroat, Hermit, Jacobian, Sicklebill, Topaz
Genus Anopetia - 1 species
Hermit,_Broad-tipped Anopetia gounellei Found: northeast Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Joao_Quental 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Stephen_Jones
Genus Doryfera
The two Lancebill species both have long straight bills.
Lancebill,_Blue-fronted Doryfera johannae Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela.
Image by: 1)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Robert_Lewis in Ecuador
Lancebill,_Green-fronted Doryfera ludovicae Found: Costa Rica, Panama, in Andes from Venezuela south to Bolivia
Image by:
1, 2) Nick Athanas - Columbia, Ecuador 2)
Juan_Zamora
Genus Eutoxeres
Found in: Central America, South America. They have stonrgly down-curved bill.
Sicklebill,_Buff-tailed
Eutoxeres condamini Found: mainly Ecuador, Peru; also Columbia, Bolivia
Image by: 1)
kaieteurnewsonline Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Brooke_Miller
Sicklebill, White-tipped Eutoxeres aquila Found: Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Carol Foil - Panama 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3)
José Loiza
1) Female 2, 3) Male.
Genus Florisuga
Found in: Central America, South America
Jacobin, Black Florisuga fusca Found: mainly southeast Brazil; also Argentina, Paraguay, Uraguay
Image by:
1, 2, 3)
Dario Sanches in Brazil - Brazil 4)
Nick Athanas - Brazil
Jacobin,_White-necked Florisuga mellivora Found: Mexico to northern and central South America
Image by:
1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9) Dick Daniels -
Soberania National Park, Panama 4, 5, 6)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 10)
New Jersy Birds
1 - 4) Female 5) Juvenile male 6 - 10) Male
Genus Glaucis
Hermit,_Bronzy Glaucis aeneus Found: Costa Rica, Hondoras, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador`
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - David_Hollie, Peter Hawrylyshyn 3)
Greg - Costa Rica
Hermit,_Hook-billed Glaucis dohrnii Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jose_Almir_Jacomelli, Caio_Brito
Hermit,_Rufous-breasted Glaucis hirsutus Found: Panama, Tobago, noerthern South America and Brazil
Image by:
1, 2)
Nick Athanas - Columbia, Ecuador 3)
Charles_Sharpe - Tobago
\
Genus Phaethornis
The hermits general have a dark eye mask with pale streaks above and below the mask.
Hermit,_Black-throated Phaethornis atrimentalis Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Amy_McAndrews 3, 4)
Nick Athanas - Peru
Hermit,_Buff-bellied Phaethornis subochraceus Found: mainly Bolivia; also Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Carlos_Henrique 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joe_Tobias
Hermit,_Cinnamon-throated Phaethornis nattereri Found: mainly Brazil; also Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Claudio_Timm
2) also
Phaethornis maranhaoensis
Hermit,_Dusky-throated Phaethornis squalidus Found: southeast Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Brendan_Ryan 3)
Carlos Henrique de Almeida 4)
Francesco_Veronesi
Hermit,_Gray-chinned Phaethornis griseogularis Found: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Francesco_Veronesi 3, 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andres_M_Cuervo, Glenn_Bartley
Hermit,_Great-billed Phaethornis malaris Found: South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Claudio_Timm 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Daniel_Lane in Ecuador
Hermit,_Green Phaethornis guy Found: Central and South America
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Dominic Sherony 3)
matlacha - Costa Rica 4)
Nick Athanas - Costa Rica 5)
Mike_Baird 6)
pat1479
Hermit,_Koepcke's Phaethornis koepckeae Found: Peru
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Jay Warburton 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Robert_Lewis 4)
Nick_Athanas
Hermit,_Little Phaethornis longuemareus Found: extreme northeast South America
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Dominic Sherony 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dave_Irving, Eleanor_Briccetti
Hermit,_Long-billed Phaethornis longirostris Found: Central America, Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
José Loiza - Ecuador 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3) Juan_Zamora - Costa Rica 4)
PEHart - Belize
Hermit,_Long-tailed Phaethornis superciliosus Found: northern Brazil, the Guianas, southern Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ciro_Albano in Brazil 3)
Brian_Gratwicke
Hermit,_Mexican Phaethornis mexicanus Found: Mexico
Image by: 1)
Jerry_Oldenettel 2)
Amy_McAndrews
Hermit,_Minute Phaethornis idaliae Found: eastern Brazil
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Gustavo_Lazarini_Forreque 3, 4) Brendan_Ryan
Hermit,_Needle-billed Phaethornis philippii Found: mainly Brazil, Peru; also Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2, 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online -Joe_Tobias in Bolivia
Hermit,_Pale-bellied Phaethornis anthophilus Found: Panama, Columbia, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Barloventomagico - Venezuela 3)
Tony_Castro - Panama 4)
Nick Athanas - Columbia
Hermit,_Planalto Phaethornis pretrei Found: mainly Bolivia, Brazil; also Argentiana, Paraguay
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Dario_Sanches - Brazil 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental - Brazil 5)
Eduardo_Camargo
Hermit,_Reddish Phaethornis ruber Found: South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil 3)
Joao_Quental - Peru 4)
Vincent_Vos - Bolivia
Hermit,_Scale-throated Phaethornis eurynome Found: mainly southeast Brazil; also Argentina, Paraguay
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Carlos_Henrique - Brazil 3)
Nick Athanas - Brazil 4)
Dario_Sanches - Brazil
Hermit,_Sooty-capped Phaethornis augusti Found: northern South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Barloventomagico - Venezuela 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - John_Mittermeier
Hermit,_Straight-billed Phaethornis bourcieri Found: northern South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Gary_clark - Ecuador 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental
Hermit,_Streak-throated Phaethornis rupurumii Found: northern South America
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil
3, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental, Anselmo_d'Affonseca in Brazil
Hermit,_Stripe-throated Phaethornis striigularis Found: Central America and northwest South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3) Jerry Oldenettel in Costa Rica 4)
Nick Athanas - Panama
Hermit,_Tapagos Phaethornis aethopygus Found: near the Tapajós River in Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Henry_Cook, Adrian_Eisen_Rupp
Hermit,_Tawny-bellied Phaethornis syrmatophorus Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3)
Michael_Woodruff 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Riccardo_Cesari in EWcuador
Hermit,_White-bearded Phaethornis hispidus Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
YamezA - Peru 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jfwoodman in Peru
Hermit,_White-browed Phaethornis stuarti Found: Bolivia, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joe_Tobias, Esteban_Argerich
Hermit,_White-whiskered Phaethornis yaruqui Found: Columbia, Ecuador
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3)
Nomdeploom - Ecuador 4)
Lip Kee - Ecuador
, 2, 3) Female 4) Male
Genus Ramphodon - 1 species
Hermit, Saw-billed Ramphodon naevius
Found: Brazil
Image by:
1. 2) Dario Sanches 3)
Nick Athanas 4)
Luiz_Carlos_Rocha
Genus Threnetes
Barbthroat,_Band-tailed Threnetes ruckeri Found: Guatemala to Columbia, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Nick Athanas - Costa Rica 3)
Michael_Woodruff - Ecuador
Barbthroat,_Pale-tailed Threnetes leucurus Found: , Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guianas, Suriname, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador 3, 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Adriano_Oliveira_Maciel in Brazil, Joe_Tobias in Peru
Barbthroat,_Sooty Threnetes niger Found: French Guiana and adjacent Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
KD Dijkstra
Genus Topaza
Topaz hummingbirs are very colurful, being mainly strongly iridescent golden and crimson with a black hood and a green throat. Females lack the elongated rectrices and have a mainly green plumage. The males are among the largest of the hummingbirds,
Topaz,_Crimson Topaza pella Found: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3) Tony_Morris - Venezuela 4)
Nick Athanas - Brazil
5, 6) Allan_Hopkins - Guyana
Topaz,_Fiery Topaza pyra Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Silvia_Faustino_Linhares 3)
Hector_Bottai.