Hummingbirds | Trochilidae

Kolibries | Colibríes

The vivid, metallic colours of the plumage do not come from pigment but from the fine, layered structure of the feather barbs, which bend and interfere with light; seen from a different angle, the same feather can flip from brilliant to dull. The long, forked tongue works as a pump that draws nectar in by capillary action, reaching deep into flower tubes out of reach for other animals. The female builds the nest, incubates and raises the young entirely alone, while in North America the male performs steep display dives in which the tail feathers vibrate in the airstream to produce a sharp, mechanical sound. In some species the length and curve of the bill closely matches the shape of the flowers that grow in its range, so that different species sharing an area draw on largely separate food sources.