Hummingbirds of the World

By Brian J Small

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There is something in the region of 320 species of hummingbird, occuring only in the New World and ranging from Alaska and Labrador in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south; from Barbados in the east to the Juan Fernandes islands in the west.

Hummingbirds are one of the avian wonders of the world.  From the diminutive Bee Hummingbird in Cuba (probably the smallest bird in the world) to the Giant Hummingbird of Chile.  Many exhibit wonderfully irridescent plumage that changes in varying light; some, like the Sword-billed Hummingbird, have remarkable adaptations for feeding.  An encounter, no matter how brief, leaves a lasting memory.

There is something in the region of 320 species of hummingbird, occuring only in the New World and ranging from Alaska and Labrador in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south; from Barbados in the east to the Juan Fernandes islands in the west.  The great majority live between 10°N and 25°S, with Ecuador and Colombia having the greatest diversity.

Fact File

• 320 species in 112 genera, 63 of which are represented by only one species; 88 genera occur in S America, 24 to the north, in N America, C America and the Caribbean islands
• in weight they range largely between 2g (e.g. Bee Hummingbird) and 9g, but the largest weighs 20g (Giant Hummingbird)
• wingbeat rates vary from 22 to 78 beats per second; in level flight they reach c.45kmh; such a high wing-beat rate coupled with their small size, results in a high metabolism requiring the intake of energy-rich foods; in order to conserve energy at night hummingbirds become torpid, when their body temperature drops to that of the surrounding air
• most nest in small simple cups attached to twigs (sometimes overhead powercables); some like the hillstars of the High Andes nest in small caves from which they hang their nests, some hang theirs from the underside of leaves
• most (119 species) nest from sea level to 1525m; less (26 species) nest 1525m up to 2580m; 62 species occur from 2580m up to 3500m; and some have been recorded up to 4000m above sea level
• some undertake long distance movements: the Ruby-throated Hummingbird traverses 1000km across the Gulf of Mexico; the Rufous Hummingbird migrates 3500km from its breeding area in Alaska to southern Mexico; the Green-backed Firecrown, which breeds in the Straits of Magellan moves north in the Austral winter to as far north as 23°S.  Many perform altitudinal movements or local movements dependent upon flowering of trees
• all feed by extracting nectar from flowers with specialized bills and tongues; nectar forms a large part of hummingbirds diet, many plants in S America have evolved or adapted to allow pollination via hummingbirds, e.g. Heliconia; small insects and spiders supplement the diet to varying degrees, and this variation can lead to subtly different ecological niches being inhabited by similar species
• hummingbirds are polygamous, the males display either via song or songflight, often at traditional leks; the females, in all but one species, are thought to build the nest, incubate, and rear the young unaided by the male

At Surfbirds, we have been lucky enough to have had images of over 100 species posted, and in order to show them all in their glory we have put together this database of them,  We would very much like to expand on this, so if you can fill any of the gaps in the missing species, we would love to have more (please post your photos in one of our many galleries World Birding Gallery | World Rarities Gallery). Thank you in particular to those photographers who regularly update the world photo galleries: Nick Athanas; Sam Woods; Mark Gurney, Colin Bushell, Pete Morris, Mark Sutton, Julian Hough, Janos Olah jr, but there are many others.

I have also included one or two females, to illustrate the sexual dimorphism of most hummingbird species – for some species we only have female-type plumages.  Also included are one or two non-breeding males and juveniles.  The irridescence of male plumage in varying light is illustrated well by the Bee Hummingbird and Ecuadorian Hillstar.  There is one image of a hybrid – hummingbirds are thought to hybridize fairly frequently at times.

The images here illustrate the beauty of hummingbirds.  Look at the extravagance of the coquettes; the bill of the Sword-billed; the minuteness of the Bee Hummingbird; the sheer extravagance of the colours of many.  One thing the images cannot show is the precarious existence of many species – hummingbirds live on the very edge of survival.  With so much habitat destruction and disturbance in South America it is of no surprise that the status of many species is currently listed as being of concern by Birdlife International.  Two species are listed as recently extinct, Brace’s Emerald was seen only once in 1877.  Of more immediate concern are the 28 species currently listed as being Critically endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VN) on their Red Data list – eight are Critically endangered.  A further 19 species are listed as Near Threatened (NT) – 15% of hummingbird species are threatened or near threatened.  We are fortunate here to have images of six from the first group and four from the latter.

Amethyst Hummingbird to Buffy Hummingbird See more

Calliope Hummingbird to Grey-tailed Mountain-gem See more

Hooded Visorbearer to Rufous Hummingbird See more

Sapphire-vented Puffleg to Xantus's Hummingbird