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The sword-billed hummingbird is among the largest species of hummingbirds. Adults are 13–14 centimetres (5.1–5.5 in) long excluding the bill and weigh 10–15 g (0.35–0.53 oz), with males being slightly larger on average than females. The most distinctive feature of the species is the enormous bill, which is 8–12 centimetres (3.1–4.7 in) long. The bill is the largest of any hummingbird and the largest with respect to body length for any bird.<p>The sword-billed hummingbird displays sexual dimorphism. Males have shorter bills but longer wings and tails than females. Males have bronze-green upperparts with coppery-bronze heads, a discreet white spot behind the eye, dusky throats, metallic green underparts, a dark gray belly, and a forked blackish bronze-green tail. Some males have white on the chin and throat. Females have similar upperparts, but have white underparts and grayish throats and bellies speckled with green. The tail is less deeply forked and is edged grayish white. Juveniles look similar to females.<p>The sword-billed hummingbird is the only known bird whose bill is longer than the rest of the body, excluding the tail. It is black, heavy, and slightly upturned. The extremely long bill helps the species feed on flowers with long corollas that are inaccessible to other species.<p>The sword-billed hummingbird makes a low, guttural, slightly trilled trrr.

Taxonomie

The sword-billed hummingbird was first described as Ornismya ensifera by Auguste Boissonneau in 1839 on the basis of specimens from Santa Fé, Bogotá, Colombia. It was moved to the genus Ensifera in 1843 by René Lesson. The generic and specific name ensifera is derived from the Latin words ensis (sword) and ferre (to carry) and means sword-wielder, referring to the species' large beak. Sword-billed hummingbird is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union. Other common names for the species include sword billed hummingbird, swordbill, and swordbill hummingbird.<p>The sword-billed hummingbird is the only species in the genus Ensifera. In 1939, Ensifera ensifera caerulescens was described as a subspecies by Willoughby Lowe on the basis of a specimen from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. However, it has since been lumped with the nominate subspecies as it is likely that the specimen had either aberrant plumage or was discolored. The species is now considered monotypic.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Ensifera ensifera

Autorität

(Boissonneau, 1840)

Ordnung

Apodiformes

Familie

Trochilidae

Gattung

Ensifera

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

The sword-billed hummingbird is found in the Andes from western Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to Bolivia. It inhabits humid and wet montane forest, forest edges, shrubland, gardens, and patches of páramo at elevations of 1,700–3,500 m (5,600–11,500 ft), but is most common at elevations of 2,400–3,100 m (7,900–10,200 ft). The species is generally non-migratory, but shows localized movements in Colombia and northwestern Venezuela, where it moves to higher altitudes in the early wet season and returns to lower elevations in the dry season.<p>The sword-billed hummingbird's distribution correlates with the distribution of species of the subgenus Tacsonia in the genus Passiflora, due to its highly specialized bill and feeding habits.

Zugverhalten

Höhenwanderung

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Höhenwanderung.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: stabil.

Bestandstrend

stabil