Sword-Billed Hummingbird

hummingbirds · Andes · extreme birds · unique adaptations

Beak longer than body. The sword-billed hummingbird is the only bird in the world whose beak is longer than the rest of its body, not counting the tail. This incredible feature makes it look like it's carrying a tiny sword.

Drinks from deep flowers. Its extremely long beak lets it reach nectar deep inside flowers that other hummingbirds cannot access. It has a special partnership with a passion flower called Passiflora mixta that evolved together with it.

Lives in the Andes. You'll find this amazing bird only in the mountainous Andean regions of South America, where it zips around looking for flowers to feed on.

Scratches with feet. Unlike other hummingbirds that preen their feathers using their beaks, the sword-billed hummingbird has to use its feet to scratch and clean itself because its beak is too long to reach its own body.

Among the largest hummingbirds. The sword-billed hummingbird is one of the biggest hummingbird species, despite being small compared to most other birds.