Sword-billed Hummingbird

A large hummingbird of the high Andes, found from Venezuela to Bolivia. Its bill, roughly 9 to 11 centimetres long, is too long to preen with, so the bird grooms its plumage by scratching with its feet.

• The passionflower Passiflora mixta has a floral tube too long for most other pollinators and relies largely on this hummingbird to carry its pollen.
• Both parts of its scientific name, Ensifera ensifera, mean sword-bearer, after the bill.
• Its closest relative is thought to be the great sapphirewing, another large hummingbird of the high Andes.
• It is classed as Least Concern, as it has a wide range along the Andes and is not thought to be declining quickly.

Active by day, feeding along a regular circuit of scattered flowers and resting on a perch between visits. It roosts at night and, like other high-Andean hummingbirds, probably enters torpor on cold nights, though this has been little studied in this species.

Habitat: cloud forest and montane woodland

Native range: Andes of South America

They feed on nectar from deep tubular flowers plus tiny insects.

Active by day, feeding along a regular circuit of scattered flowers and resting on a perch between visits. It roosts at night and, like other high-Andean hummingbirds, probably enters torpor on cold nights, though this has been little studied in this species.

Measured ages are unpublished; hummingbirds whose bills exceed body length at Passiflora flowers may live several years by size analogy alone.

Breeding is scarcely known and few nests have been described. They are reported as mossy cups, and the clutch is assumed to be two white eggs, incubated and raised by the female alone as in other hummingbirds.

Sexes are similar, though females are often duller.

Rarity: Uncommon · 62/100. Sword-billed Hummingbird can still be found in good habitat, but local numbers shift when cloud forest and montane woodland changes.

• Keep distance and let the animal choose the space.
• Avoid blocking movement routes, nesting areas, or feeding behavior.
• Use optics, patience, and quiet observation instead of crowding for a closer view.