| Sword-billed Hummingbird | |
|---|---|
| Sword-billed Hummingbird | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Ensifera Lesson, 1843 |
| Species: | E. ensifera |
| Binomial name | |
| Ensifera ensifera (Boissonneau, 1840) |
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Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is a species of hummingbird from South America and the sole member of the genus Ensifera. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
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The genus and species name ensifera ("sword-wielder") is derived from Latin ensis (sword) and ferre (to carry), and refers to this hummingbird's remarkable beak length.
It is noted as the only species of bird to have a bill longer than the rest of its body. This adaptation is to feed on flowers with long corollas such as Passiflora mixta. The tongue is therefore also unusually long.
Since the Sword-billed Hummingbird's beak is very long, it grooms itself with its feet.[1] From base of the bill to the tail tip, this species is 14 cm (5.5 in) long, not counting the 8 cm+ bill. This hummingbird weighs about 12 grams and is one of the largest species of hummingbirds.