Vorstman's Guideto the birds of the Andes and West Coast

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Hummingbirds | Trochilidae

Kolibries | Colibríes | Hummingbirds

With two hundred and thirty-one species in eighty-two genera, the hummingbirds are the richest family of the Andes and the west coast; nowhere in the world do more species live than in the northern Andes. They are present from the rainforest of the Chocó and the Amazonian foothills through cloud forest to páramo and puna, and even in oases and gardens of the coastal desert; the hermits live in the shade of the rainforest understorey, most other species in cloud forest, forest edges and flowering scrub. The family includes the smallest birds in the world, but also the Giant Hummingbird, as large as a starling. They have a needle-like bill, in the Sword-billed Hummingbird longer than the rest of the body, and a long tongue, forked at the tip, with which they lap up nectar. The wing turns almost entirely from the shoulder, so that they can hover and even fly backwards, beating dozens of times a second. This requires an exceptionally high metabolism; at night they can enter torpor and lower their body temperature to save energy, which matters above all in the cold high mountains. Besides nectar they take small insects and spiders, the main source of protein for the young. The feet are so small that they cannot walk, only perch. In many species the male has a metallic gorget or crown that flashes only at the right angle. The female alone builds a tiny cup of plant down and spider silk, often covered with lichen or moss, and lays two white eggs.

Native species 218 species

Species that occur here by nature: breeding birds, winter visitors and passage migrants. They are arranged by genus, in the sequence of the list.

Florisuga 1 species

Topaza 1 species

Eutoxeres 2 species

Glaucis 2 species

Threnetes 2 species

Phaethornis 20 species

Doryfera 2 species

Schistes 2 species

Colibri 4 species

Heliactin 1 species

Androdon 1 species

Heliothryx 2 species

Polytmus 2 species

Avocettula 1 species

Chrysolampis 1 species

Anthracothorax 2 species

Haplophaedia 3 species

Loddigesia 1 species

Eriocnemis 10 species

Lafresnaya 1 species

Aglaeactis 4 species

Coeligena 12 species

Ensifera 1 species

Pterophanes 1 species

Boissonneaua 3 species

Urosticte 2 species

Ocreatus 3 species

Urochroa 2 species

Heliodoxa 8 species

Discosura 3 species

Lophornis 3 species

Phlogophilus 2 species

Heliangelus 8 species

Adelomyia 1 species

Taphrolesbia 1 species

Aglaiocercus 2 species

Sappho 1 species

Ramphomicron 2 species

Lesbia 2 species

Oreotrochilus 7 species

Polyonymus 1 species

Opisthoprora 1 species

Metallura 9 species

Oreonympha 1 species

Oxypogon 3 species

Chalcostigma 5 species

Patagona 1 species

Heliomaster 2 species

Calliphlox 1 species

Thaumastura 1 species

Myrmia 1 species

Myrtis 1 species

Rhodopis 1 species

Philodice 1 species

Microstilbon 1 species

Chaetocercus 6 species

Chlorostilbon 8 species

Klais 1 species

Anthocephala 2 species

Campylopterus 4 species

Chalybura 2 species

Thalurania 2 species

Goldmania 1 species

Leucippus 1 species

Phaeochroa 1 species

Thaumasius 2 species

Taphrospilus 1 species

Eupetomena 1 species

Talaphorus 1 species

Saucerottia 4 species

Amazilia 1 species

Amazilis 1 species

Uranomitra 1 species

Chrysuronia 7 species

Chionomesa 2 species

Hylocharis 2 species

Elliotomyia 2 species

Polyerata 2 species

Chlorestes 4 species

Vagrants 2 species

Birds blown in from other continents. They have no range here, and so no distribution map.