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Sword-billed hummingbird - in flight, Jardin, Colombia After first seeing the Sword-billed hummingbird land in front of my lens...<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/60554/sword-billed_hummingbird_jardin_colombia.html" title="Sword-billed hummingbird, Jardin, Colombia"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/60554_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=RIxFDu8WYPqQxOxvYOqOy0VaDGA%3D" width="200" height="184" alt="Sword-billed hummingbird, Jardin, Colombia I was happily flashing along a great feeder site near Jardin, when this stunning creature landed right in front of me. I was absolutely speechless. Henriette saw the twinkle in my eyes, and knew that we would be here for a while. I added insult to injury by saying that we won&#039;t leave before I have an in-flight shot of this one. <br /> <br /> This bird is the only known bird in the world where the beak is longer than its entire body. It is so long that it is forced to stand as it does on the photo, otherwise it would tip over. Its beak is so long, that unlike other birds, I cannot groom its feathers using its beak, it has to use its feet for that. Antioquia,Colombia,Colombia Choco &amp; Pacific region,Ensifera ensifera,Fall,Geotagged,Jardin,Jard&iacute;n,South America,Sword-billed hummingbird,World" /></a></figure><br /> ...I vowed to stay at this feeder site for as long as needed to get an in-flight shot of it. Luckily this did not take extremely long. It would come and feed in a predictable timing of once per 5-7 minutes, after which it would not hang around the feeder, instead it would visit a remote bush. Each time it approached the feeder, it did about 3 flights.<br /> <br /> Here&#039;s a first in-flight shot. Much better ones are coming next in the feed, but I&#039;m particularly liking the panic in its eyes as it is trying to steer its unbalanced body towards the feeder. Antioquia,Colombia,Colombia Choco & Pacific region,Ensifera ensifera,Fall,Geotagged,Jardin,Jardín,South America,Sword-billed hummingbird,World Click/tap to enlarge

Sword-billed hummingbird - in flight, Jardin, Colombia

After first seeing the Sword-billed hummingbird land in front of my lens...

Sword-billed hummingbird, Jardin, Colombia I was happily flashing along a great feeder site near Jardin, when this stunning creature landed right in front of me. I was absolutely speechless. Henriette saw the twinkle in my eyes, and knew that we would be here for a while. I added insult to injury by saying that we won't leave before I have an in-flight shot of this one. <br /> <br /> This bird is the only known bird in the world where the beak is longer than its entire body. It is so long that it is forced to stand as it does on the photo, otherwise it would tip over. Its beak is so long, that unlike other birds, I cannot groom its feathers using its beak, it has to use its feet for that. Antioquia,Colombia,Colombia Choco & Pacific region,Ensifera ensifera,Fall,Geotagged,Jardin,Jardín,South America,Sword-billed hummingbird,World

...I vowed to stay at this feeder site for as long as needed to get an in-flight shot of it. Luckily this did not take extremely long. It would come and feed in a predictable timing of once per 5-7 minutes, after which it would not hang around the feeder, instead it would visit a remote bush. Each time it approached the feeder, it did about 3 flights.

Here's a first in-flight shot. Much better ones are coming next in the feed, but I'm particularly liking the panic in its eyes as it is trying to steer its unbalanced body towards the feeder.

    comments (3)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Ha, very wide-eyed indeed! The colors are so pretty. I love his yellow beard - very hip and masculine, lol. Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      I actually avoided the sex question on this observation so far, since the illustration in my book isn't very conclusive. But you triggered me to look further and I am quite sure now that this is a female :)
      http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-sword-billed-hummingbird.html       Posted 7 years ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Ha, well then, it's a very pretty beard ;P. Posted 7 years ago

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The Sword-billed hummingbird

The sword-billed hummingbird is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the sole member of the genus "Ensifera" and is characterized by its unusually long bill size; it is the only bird to have a beak longer than the length of its body.

Info 20 1
Similar species: Swifts And Hummingbirds
Species identified by Ferdy Christant
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By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded May 28, 2018. Captured Oct 30, 2017 08:49 in Riosucio - Jardin, Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia.
country flag of Colombia Explore Colombia 8,334 2,805 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/8.0
  • 1/60s
  • ISO64
  • 460mm
View light conditions of this photo
Captured in the fall. More fall photos.