Scientific Classification
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Apodiformes
FAMILY: Trochilidae
GENUS: Ensifera
SPECIES: E. ensifera
Conservation Status
Excluding their tail, this hummingbird is the only bird on the planet to have a beak longer than its body! With the sword-billed hummingbird’s beak ranging around four inches long, it must use its feet to scratch and preen itself.
Males have a glittery green upper plumage, while females are white with greenish-black spots.
Flowers known as Passiflora mixta can thank their existence to the coevolving with the sword-billed hummingbird. The corolla tube is so long with these flowers that bees and butterflies cannot access the nectar, which the sword-billed hummingbird can reach with its beak. Therefore, the P. mixta depends on the hummingbird to pollinate, while the hummingbird gets a high-quality food source.
Their scientific name, stemming from their long beak, Ensifera ensifera comes from the Latin words ensis and ferre translating to “sword” and “to carry.”