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Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics around the equator. They are small birds, with most species measuring in length. The smallest extant hummingbird species is the bee hummingbird, which weighs less than . The largest hummingbird species is the giant hummingbird, weighing . They are specialized for feeding on flower nectar, but all species also consume flying insects or spiders. Hummingbirds split from their sister group, the swifts and treeswifts, around 42 million years ago. The common ancestor of extant hummingbirds is estimated to have lived 22 million years ago in South America. They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to humans. They hover in mid-air at rapid wing-flapping rate ...
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Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics around the equator. They are small birds, with most species measuring in length. The smallest extant taxon, extant hummingbird species is the bee hummingbird, which weighs less than . The largest hummingbird species is the giant hummingbird, weighing . They are specialized for feeding on flower nectar, but all species also consume flying insects or spiders. Hummingbirds split from their Sister taxon, sister group, the Swift (bird), swifts and treeswifts, around 42 million years ago. The common ancestor of extant hummingbirds is estimated to have lived 22 million years ago in South America. They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating Bird's wing, wings, which flap at high freq ...
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Eurotrochilus
''Eurotrochilus'' is an extinct genus of stem group hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and are the closest known relatives of the crown group Trochilidae. Despite ''Eurotrochilus'' being morphologically very similar to modern hummingbirds, they still retained several primitive features and are not closely related to any specific extant hummingbird in the crown group. There are currently two described species of ''Eurotrochilus'': ''E. inexpectatus'' and ''E. noniewiczi''. ''Eurotrochilus'' has been dated back to the Rupelian age of the early Oligocene era, which occurred during the Paleogene period. While there is some debate over exactly when ''Eurotrochilus'' was present, the most recent estimate is suggested to be 28 to 34 million years ago. The discovery of ''Eurotrochilus'' fossils in Germany, France, and Poland was extremely important because today all 328 of the extant species of hummingbirds only occur in the New World but the fossils of ''Eurotrochilus'' suggest an Old World or ...
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Patagoninae
The giant hummingbird (''Patagona gigas'') is the only member of the genus ''Patagona'' and the largest member of the hummingbird family, weighing and having a wingspan of approximately and length of . This is approximately the same length as a European starling or a northern cardinal, though the giant hummingbird is considerably lighter because it has a slender build and long bill, making the body a smaller proportion of the total length. This weight is almost twice that of the next heaviest hummingbird species and ten times that of the smallest, the bee hummingbird. Taxonomy The giant hummingbird was described and illustrated in 1824 by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot based on a specimen that Vieillot mistakenly believed had been collected in Brazil. The type locality was designated as Valparaíso in Chile by Carl Eduard Hellmayr in 1945. The giant hummingbird is now the only species placed in the genus ''Patagona'' that was introduced by George Robert ...
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Giant Hummingbird
The giant hummingbird (''Patagona gigas'') is the only member of the genus ''Patagona'' and the largest member of the hummingbird family, weighing and having a wingspan of approximately and length of . This is approximately the same length as a European starling or a northern cardinal, though the giant hummingbird is considerably lighter because it has a slender build and long bill, making the body a smaller proportion of the total length. This weight is almost twice that of the next heaviest hummingbird species and ten times that of the smallest, the bee hummingbird. Taxonomy The giant hummingbird was described and illustrated in 1824 by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot based on a specimen that Vieillot mistakenly believed had been collected in Brazil. The type locality was designated as Valparaíso in Chile by Carl Eduard Hellmayr in 1945. The giant hummingbird is now the only species placed in the genus ''Patagona'' that was introduced by George Robert ...
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Bee Hummingbird
The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (''Mellisuga helenae'') is a species of hummingbird, native to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the world's smallest bird. Description The bee hummingbird is the smallest living bird. Females weigh and are long, and are slightly larger than males, which have an average weight of and length of . Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier. The male has a green pileum and bright red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, the bee hummingbird looks rounded and plump. Female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their tail feathers have white spots. During the mating season, males have a reddish to pink head, chin, and throat. The female lays only two eggs at a time, each about the size of a coffee bean. ...
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Florisuginae
Florisuginae is one of the six subfamilies in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily contains two genera, '' Topaza'' and '' Florisuga'', which each contain two species. Phylogeny A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family was composed of nine major clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen, Jr. updated the ''Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World'' for the 4th edition in 2013 they divided the hummingbirds into six subfamilies and proposed using the name Florisuginae for the clade consisting of the genera '' Topaza'' and '' Florisuga''. The subfamily Florisuginae had originally been introduced (as Florisugeae) by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1853. Molecular phylogenetic studies by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published between 2007 and 2014 determined the relationships between the major groups of hummingbirds. In the cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clado ...
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Polytminae
Polytminae is one of the six subfamilies of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily contains 12 genera with a total of 29 species. The informal name "mangoes" has been proposed for this group as the seven species in the largest genus, ''Anthracothorax'', include "mango" in their common name. Taxonomy A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family consisted of nine clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen, Jr. updated the ''Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World'' for the 4th edition in 2013 they divided the nine clades into six subfamilies and proposed using the Latin name Polytminae for the "mango" clade, a name that had been introduced by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1849. The existence of this clade was not anticipated by pre-molecular studies but a common feature is the presence of serrations on the cutting edge of the bill. An extreme example is the tooth-billed hummingbird (''Androdon aequato ...
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Hermit (hummingbird)
The hermits are tropical and subtropical hummingbirds in the subfamily Phaethornithinae, comprising 37 species in six genera. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina. Their plumage typically involves greens, browns, rufous or grey. Most species show some green or bronze iridescence to the upperparts, but this is far less conspicuous than that of many other hummingbirds. The male and female plumages of hermits are very similar, with differences limited to details of bill-shape, tail-shape and/or strength of colours/patterns. Most species of hermit do not show the strong sexual dimorphism usually associated with hummingbirds; green hermit is an exception to this rule. Hermits in the type genus, ''Phaethornis'', have a long decurved bill (except for three species, ''P. koepkeae'', ''P. philippii'' and ''P. bourcieri'', with virtually straight bills) with a red or yellow base to the lower mandible, and th ...
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Lesbiinae
Lesbiinae is one of the six subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into two tribes: Heliantheini ("brilliants") containing 14 genera and Lesbiini ("coquettes") containing 18 genera. Phylogeny A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family consisted of nine clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen, Jr. updated the ''Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World'' for the 4th edition in 2013 they divided the hummingbird family into six subfamilies and proposed using the name Lesbiinae for a subfamily containing the tribes Heliantheini and Lesbiini. The subfamily Lesbiinae had been introduced by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1854. Molecular phylogenetic studies by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published between 2007 and 2014 determined the relationships between the major groups of hummingbirds. In the cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gram ...
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Trochilinae
Trochilinae is one of the six subfamilies that make up the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The subfamily is divided into three tribes: Lampornithini (mountain gems) containing 18 species, Mellisugini (bees) containing 37 species and Trochilini (emeralds) containing 115 species. Phylogeny The hummingbirds were formerly divided into two subfamilies, the hermits ( Phaethornithinae) and the nonhermits (Trochilinae). The results from a 2007 DNA hybridization study suggested that the hermits were basal to the rest of the family. A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family consisted of nine clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen Jr. updated the ''Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World'' for the 4th edition in 2013, they divided the hummingbird family into six subfamilies based on the molecular results and redefined the subfamily Trochilinae to contain three clades, each of which they placed in a se ...
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Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swim ...
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Swift (bird)
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae. Resemblances between swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight. The family name, Apodidae, is derived from the Greek ἄπους (''ápous''), meaning "footless", a reference to the small, weak legs of these most aerial of birds.Jobling (2010) pp. 50–51.Kaufman (2001) p. 329. The tradition of depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages, as seen in the heraldic martlet. Taxonomy Taxonomists have long classified swifts and treeswifts as relatives of the hummingbirds, a judgment corroborated by the discovery of the Jungornithidae (apparently swift-like hummingbird-r ...
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