Listen to the sword-billed hummingbird
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the sword-billed hummingbird
The sword-billed hummingbird is a bird in the family Trochilidae (order Apodiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 1 g.
What does the sword-billed hummingbird sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the only member in the genus Ensifera. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually long bill, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses its bill to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas and has coevolved with the species Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their bills, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its bill being so long.
More from the family Trochilidae
Anna's hummingbird
Calypte anna
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Calliope hummingbird
Selasphorus calliope
Sparkling violetear
Colibri coruscans
Black-chinned hummingbird
Archilochus alexandri
Mexican violetear
Colibri thalassinus
White-tipped sicklebill
Eutoxeres aquila
Green hermit
Phaethornis guy
White-necked jacobin
Florisuga mellivora
Fiery topaz
Topaza pyra
White-booted racket-tail
Ocreatus underwoodii
Brown violetear
Colibri delphinae
Frequently asked questions
What does a sword-billed hummingbird sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the sword-billed hummingbird on this page, including its flight call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the sword-billed hummingbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the sword-billed hummingbird as “least concern”.
What family does the sword-billed hummingbird belong to?
The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) belongs to the family Trochilidae in the order Apodiformes.
Sources & credits
- Flight call · Pichincha: Yanacocha, Volcán Pichincha, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q385548 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Sword-billed hummingbird – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Andy Morffew from Itchen Abbas, Hampshire, UK – CC BY 2.0