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
Comet, Coquette, Firecrown, Sunangel, Sylph, Thorntail
Genus Adelomyia - 1 species
Hummingbird,_Speckled Adelomyia melanogenys Found: Andes from Venezuela to Argentina
Image by:
1, 2,
3) Jerry Oldenettel - Ecuador
4, 5, 6) Nick_Athanas - Peru, Peru, Ecuador
4)
A. m. chlorospila 5)
A . m. melanogenys
6)
A. m. maculata
Genus Aglaiocercus
Sylphs have short bills and males have very long tails.
Sylph,_Long-tailed Aglaiocercus kingii Found: east slope of Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Felix_Uribe 2)
Julian_Londono - Columbia 3)
Alejandro_Tamayo 4) Dick Daniels - Guango Lodge, Ecuador 5)
Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 6)
Andy_Morffew - Ecuador
1. 2) Female 4 - 6) Male
Sylph,_Venezuelan Aglaiocercus berlepschi Found: Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Nick_Athanas 2)
Barloventomagico
1) Female 2) Male
Sylph,_Violet-tailed Aglaiocercus coelestis Found: Columbia, Ecuador
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2,
4) Sergey_Pisarevskiy Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 5)
Michael_Woodruff - Ecudor 6)
Andy_Morffew - Ecuador
2, 3) Female
4, 5, 6) Male
Genus Anthocephala
Blossomcrown,_Santa_Marta Anthocephala floriceps Found: Santa Marta moutains of Columbia
Image by: 1)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Juan_Joe_Arango 2)
Nick_Athanas - Columbia
Blossomcrown,_Tolima Anthocephala berlepschi Found: northeast Columbia
Image by: 1, 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Hugo_Loaiza, ProAves_Colombia 3)
Nick_Athanas
Genus Discosura
Some have argued for merging the Thorntails into the
Coquettes (
Lophornis), which they overall resemble, except for the highly modified tail-feathers of the males.
Coquette,_Racket-tailed Discosura longicaudus Found: northern South America
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
_Nick_Athanas - Guyana
3, 4) Thelma_Gatuzzo Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Lars_Petersson, Carlos_Gussoni
2) Female or juvenile male 3) Female 4) Male
Thorntail,_Black-bellied Discosura langsdorffi Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2, 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Peter_Hawrylyshyn, Daniel_Lane 4)
Nick_Athanas - Peru
2) Female 3, 4) Male
Thorntail,_Green Discosura conversii Found: Costa Rica to Ecuador
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Sylvere_Corre - Ecuador 3)
Nick Athanas 4)
Jerry_Oldenettel - Ecuador
2, 3) Female 4) Male
Thorntail,_Wire-crested Discosura popelairii Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 4) Laura Gaudette 3, 5) Nick_Athanas - Peru 6)
Ameet - Peru
2, 3) Female 4- 6) Male
Genus Heliangelus
Sunangles are found in humid forests, forest edges, and scrub zones of the Andes.
Sunangel,_Amethyst-throated Heliangelus amethysticollis Found: Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Claudio_Timm 3, 5)
Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 4)
Francesco Veronesi - Ecuador
2, 3) Female 5) Male
3)
H. a. laticlavius
Sunangel,_Gorgeted Heliangelus strophianus Found: mainly Ecuador; also adjacent Columbia
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Ameet - Ecuador 3)
Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 4)
Carlos_Henrique - Ecuador
2) Female 3, 4) Male
Sunangel,_Little also
Flame-throated Sunangel Heliangelus micraster Found: Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3, 4)
Nick_Athanas - Ecuador
2) Juvenile 3) Female or subadult male 4) Male
Sunangel,_Orange-throated Heliangelus mavors Found: Columbia, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Andy_Jones 3)
Nick_Athanas 4)
Barloventomagico - Venezuela
2) Female 3, 4) Male
Sunangel,_Purple-throated Heliangelus viola Found: Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3,
4) Dick Daniels - Ecuador
5, 6) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador
2 - 5) Female 6) Male
Sunangel,_Royal Heliangelus regalis Found: Mainly Peru; also Ecuador
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Peter_Hawrylyshyn 3)
Nick_Athanas - Peru
Sunangel,_Tourmaline Heliangelus exortis Found: Columbia, Ecuador
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Dick Daniels - Guango Lodge, Ecuador 9) Andy_Morffew
2 - 6) Female 7 - 9) Male
Genus Lophornis
Coquette,_Black-crested Lophornis helenae Found: Mexico to Costa Rica
Image by: 1)
Amy_McAndrews - Costa Rica 2)
Nick_Athanas - Costa Rica 3)
Jerry_Oldenettel - Costa Rica
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Coquette,_Dot-eared Lophornis gouldii Found: mainly Brazil; also Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Dave_Curtis - Brazil
1) Female 2) Male
Coquette,_Festive Lophornis chalybeus Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Chephas 2, 5) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador, Brazil
3, 4) Dario Sanches - Brazil
1) Juvenile 2, 3) Female 4, 5) Male
Coquette,_Frilled Lophornis magnificus Found: Brazil
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 4) Nick_Athanas 3)
Baraodorio Hector_Bottai
2) Female 3, 4, 5) Male
Coquette,_Peacock Lophornis pavoninus Found: mainly Venezuela; also Brazil, Guyana
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Jerry_Oldenettel - Venezuela 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Lars_Petersson in Venezuela
Coquette,_Rufous-crested Lophornis delattrei Found: Panama, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1)
Nick_Athanas - Peru 3)
Dominic_Sherony - Panama 2, 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Peter_Hawrylyshyn in Peru, Jean_Paul_Perret in Peru
1) Pair 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Coquette,_Short-crested Lophornis brachylophus Found: Mexico
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Stephen_Davies, Ryan_Shaw
Coquette,_Spangled Lophornis stictolophus Found: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Tony_Castro 3)
Francesco_Veronesi - Ecuador 4)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jean_Margareta_Wieser
Coquette, Tufted Lophornis ornatus Found: extreme ne Brazil; the Guianas, Suriname, Venezuela
Image by: 1)
New Jersy Birds 2, 3) Steve Garvie
Coquette,_White-crested Lophornis adorabilis Found: Costa Rica, Panama
Image by: 1) Cephas 2)
coffeetaylor - Panama 3)
Feroze_Omardeen - Costa Rica
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Chris_Jimenez
2) Female 3, 4) Male
Genus Phlogophilus
Piedtail,_Ecuadorian Phlogophilus hemileucurus Found: mainly Ecuador; also Columbia, Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Nick_Athanas - Ecuador 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Glenn_Bartley
Piedtail,_Peruvian Phlogophilus harterti Found: Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jean-Luc_Baron
Genus Polyonymus
Comet,_Bronze-tailed Polyonymus caroli Found: Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dusan_Brinkhuizen
2) Male
Comet,_Red-tailed Sappho sparganurus Found: Argentina, Bolivia
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3, 4) Nick_Athanas - Argentina
2) Female 3, 4, 5) Male
Genus Sephanoides
Firecrown,_Green-backed Sephanoides sephaniodes Found: Argentina, Chile
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3) Pablo_Necochea - Chile 4)
lalo_pangue 5)
Felipebernala
5) Male
Firecrown,_Juan_Fernandez Sephanoides fernandensis Found: Robinson Crusoe Island of Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile
Image by: 1)
Arthur_Grosset 2)
Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Fabrice_Schmitt 3)
Héctor Gutiérrez Guzmán 4)
d_robichaud - Chile
1) Female 2 - 4) Male
Comet,_Gray-bellied Taphrolesbia griseiventris Found: Peru
Image by: 1)
Cephas 2, 3) Nick_Athanas
2) Female 3 Male