Species group · Birds

Hummingbirds

WAnimals has 11 species of hummingbird, all in the family Trochilidae.

11 species
1 family
24 countries
114 parks
Weight
2 g – 24 g
Length
7 cm – 25 cm
Lifespan
5 – 8 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 11.

All 11 species of hummingbirds on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

9 Least Concern1 Critically Endangered1 Endangered

2 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 24 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

  • Its heart can beat up to 1,200 times a minute in flight.

    From Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

  • It migrates non-stop for more than 800 km across the Gulf of Mexico.

    From Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

  • It feeds on nectar, taking small insects for protein.

    From Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

  • Its iridescence is on the rump, not the throat: from the front it looks like a plain brown hummingbird, and only when it turns does it show a flash of copper and violet.

    From Shining Sunbeam

  • It lives above 4,000 metres at some points in the Andes, where the night-time temperature drops below zero all year round, and it depends on nightly torpor to survive.

    From Shining Sunbeam

  • It pollinates the frailejones (Espeletia) and other páramo plants, an ecosystem that exists only in the northern Andes and that is the main regulator of that region's water supply.

    From Shining Sunbeam

  • It is one of the commonest species at the feeders of the Costa Rican reserves, and its territorial behaviour means a single male can monopolise a feeder by driving off dozens of other birds.

    From Purple-throated Mountain-gem

  • It pierces the base of tubular flowers to steal the nectar without pollinating them, behaviour known as nectar robbing that it shares with several short-billed hummingbirds.

    From Purple-throated Mountain-gem

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one