Content
- How many species of hummingbirds are there?
- Hummingbird Characteristics
- Hummingbird Characteristics
- violet hummingbird
- brown hummingbird
- Violet-eared hummingbird
- Hummingbird Verdemar
- Subfamily of the Trochilinae hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are small exotic birds, especially popular for their many features and beautiful shape. Although they stand out for their extremely elongated beaks, through which they extract nectar from flowers, are also captivating for their way of flying, being suspended in the air while emitting a characteristic hum.
Do you know what types of hummingbirds exist, what they are called and some of their peculiarities? In this article by Animal Expert, types of hummingbirds - Features and photos, we'll show you a complete guide to the hummingbird genus with photographs. Good reading.
How many species of hummingbirds are there?
Hummingbirds are very small birds that belong to the Trochilidae family, which has more than 330 species from Alaska to the far end of South America, a region known as Tierra del Fuego. However, of these more than 330 species, only 4 are considered types of hummingbirds of the genus Colibri - name by which they are popularly known in many countries outside Brazil.
The other species belong to other diverse genera. Of the four hummingbird species, three exist in Brazil, inhabiting mostly mountainous forest regions.
Something very interesting about hummingbirds is that they are the only birds with the ability to fly backwards and remain suspended in the air. Hummingbird species of the genus Colibri usually have 12 to 14 cm.
Hummingbird Characteristics
The metabolism of hummingbirds and the rest of their Trochilidae family is so high that they need to feed on the flower's nectar and constantly devour tiny insects in order to maintain a temperature of 40 degrees in their tiny bodies. Your heart rate is very fast, the heart beats up to 1,200 times a minute.
To be able to rest for a few hours, they must go into a kind of hibernation that greatly reduces their heart rate and body temperature. Let's see below other characteristics of the most striking hummingbirds:
Hummingbird Characteristics
- Most hummingbird species live in Brazil and Ecuador
- They can be from 6 to 15 centimeters, on average
- Can weigh from 2 to 7 grams
- Your tongue is bifurcated and extensible
- The hummingbird can flap its wings 80 times per second
- The small paws do not allow them to walk on the ground
- They live 12 years on average
- Its incubation period is 13 to 15 days
- Smell is not very developed
- Hummingbirds are polygamous
- They feed mainly on nectar and, to a lesser extent, on flies and ants
- They are important pollinating animals in nature
Next, we will know in detail the four types of hummingbirds of the genus hummingbird.
violet hummingbird
The violet hummingbird - whose scientific name is hummingbird coruscans, is distributed between north and west South America. In Brazil, there are records of the species in the north of the state of Amazonas and Roraima.
Like all types of hummingbirds, it essentially feeds on nectar, although he adds small insects and spiders as a protein supplement to his diet.
This hummingbird has two registered subspecies: o Hummingbird coruscans coruscans, found in the mountains of Colombia, Venezuela and northwestern Argentina; it's the hummingbird coruscans germanus, present in southern Venezuela, Guyana and the far north of Brazil.
brown hummingbird
The brown hummingbird (Hummingbird delphinae), nests in forests whose average altitude is between 400 and 1,600 meters above sea level, although it descends from this height to feed. Inhabits areas of Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia and the Trinidad and Tobago Islands. This species is very aggressive against other hummingbirds.
This hummingbird also has two other subspecies: the Hummingbird delphinae delphinae, present in Belize, Guatemala, Guyanas, Brazil and Bolivia; it's the Hummingbird delphinae greenewalti, which takes place in Bahia.
Violet-eared hummingbird
The violet-eared hummingbird, Hummingbird serrirostris, lives in almost all of south america and it is common to find it in Espírito Santo, Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Piauí and Rio Grande do Sul.
The areas inhabited by this species are tropical and subtropical dry forests, savannas and degraded forests. Males measure 12.5 cm and weigh 7g, while females measure 11 cm and weigh 6g. This species is very colorful, with the male plumage being more intense than that of females.
This type of hummingbird is very territorial and can aggressively defend your flowers. Like other hummingbird species, they feed on nectar from flowers and small arthropods.
Hummingbird Verdemar
This hummingbird, thalassinus hummingbird, lives in the highlands from Mexico to the Andean region from Venezuela to Bolivia. It is a migratory bird that travels to the United States and Canada. Its habitat is formed by fields with shrubs and trees that are between 600 and 3,000 meters high in wetter areas. They measure between 9.5 and 11 cm, weighing 5 to 6 grams. At females are smaller. Five subspecies were registered.
Subfamily of the Trochilinae hummingbirds
The trochilinae (trochilinae) are a subfamily of hummingbirds that also receive other names such as Chupaflor, Picaflor, Chupa-honey, Cuitelo, Guainumbi, among others, according to the geographical area. Below we will show some specimens of a different genus of hummingbirds, but whose appearance and common name are almost identical. There are more than 100 genres of the family trochilinae. Some of these hummingbird species are:
- Purple hummingbird. Campylopterus hemileucurus. It belongs to the genus Campylopterus.
- White-tailed hummingbird. Florisuga mellivora. It belongs to the genus Florisuga.
- Crested hummingbird. Orthorhyncus cristatus. It belongs to the genus Orthorhyncus.
- Fire-throat hummingbird. flag panther. It belongs to the genus Panterpe.
In the image below, we can see a fire-throat hummingbird. And that's it. Now that you are familiar with the four types of hummingbirds of the Colibri genus, you may be interested in this other PeritoAnimal article on migratory birds. See you in the next text from PeritoAnimal!
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