Home › Aves › Trochilidae › Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera)
SPECIES PROFILE
Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera)
Ensifera
IUCN STATUS
Least Concern
CONSERVATION STATUS
Least Concern
CLASS
Aves
GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE
Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia
DIET
Nectarivorous
HABITAT
Andean cloud forest and páramo
🔬 Classification
PHYLUM
Chordata
CLASS
Aves
ORDER
Apodiformes
FAMILY
Trochilidae
GENUS
Ensifera
📋 Description
SIZE
Up to 14 cm body; bill up to 11 cm
COLORATION
Bronze-green with a glittering throat
ADAPTATIONS
Only bird whose bill is longer than its body, reaching deep trumpet flowers
🌿 Ecology
HABITAT
Andean cloud forest and páramo
DIET
Nectarivorous
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE
Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia
REPRODUCTION
Two tiny eggs in a cup nest
DIET DETAILS
Nectar from long tubular flowers and small insects
⚠️ Threats & Conservation
PRIMARY THREATS
Habitat loss
💡 Interesting Facts
1
The only bird on Earth with a bill longer than its own body, forcing it to perch with the bill held up.
2
It co-evolved with long trumpet-shaped passionflowers that only it can pollinate.
🔭 Sighting Guide
📍 BEST PLACES TO SIGHT
Yanacocha Reserve
Papallacta
🗓️ BEST TIME TO SIGHT
Year-round
🎯 SIGHTING TIPS
Watch high-Andes flower gardens and reserve feeders in the morning; the impossibly long bill is unmistakable.
