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Hummingbirds 

Male Purple-Bibbed White-Tip (Urosticte benjamini)
 

Male Fawn-Breasted Brilliant (Heliodoxa rubinoides)


Male Booted Racket-Tail (Ocreatus underwoodii)


Hummingbird Cam from
the World Land Trust:

www.wildlifefocus.org




Male White-Necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora)


Female Green-Crowned Woodnymph
(Thalurania fannyi)


Male Green-Crowned Woodnymph
(Thalurania fannyi)





Andean Emerald
(Amazilia franciae)


Andean Emerald
(Amazilia franciae)


Andean Emerald
(Amazilia franciae)

Useful Hummingbird Links:

World of Hummingbirds

www.audubon.org



Baron's Hermit
(Phaethornis baroni)


White Whiskered Hermit
(Phaethornis yaruqui)


Male Purple-Throated Woodstar (Calliphlox mitchellii)
and Male Green Thorntail (Popelairia conversii) (I think)







Male Purple-Throated Woodstar (Calliphlox mitchellii)


Female Purple-Throated Woodstar (Calliphlox mitchellii)


Velvet Purple Coronet (Boissoneaua jardini) (I think)


Andean Emerald
(Amazilia franciae)

 Ecuador is one of the best countries in the world in which  to watch hummingbirds.  Even non bird-watchers enjoy seeing the jewel-bright 'hummers'.

Hummingbirds of Ecuador Photo Gallery

Ecuador is a wonderful place to watch hummingbirds.  It has around 130 different types of hummingbird and you can see them almost all over the country, from the lowlands on both sides of the Andes to surprisingly high up in the mountains.  A few types are even found in the streets and urban parks of the capital, Quito - look out for sparkling violet-ears and black train-bearers.  Many of Ecuador's hummingbirds are brightly-coloured and some, such as the booted racket-tail below, are so distinctive than even the most inexperienced bird-watcher can easily identify them.

Hummingbirds are the only type of bird which can fly backwards.  They can also hover in mid-air and can even fly upside down.  Although the 'elbow' and 'wrist' joints are fused so the wings do not bend in the middle, hummingbirds have 180º of motion at the shoulder joint.  The distinctive humming noise is made by their wings, moving at up to 70 or 80 beats per second for the smallest hummingbirds.  The Giant hummingbird beats its wings only around 10 times per second.  Most middle-sized hummingbirds flap their wings at around 20-25 beats per second, or 1200 to 1500 beats per minute.

Photographing hummingbirds is not easy - they move incredibly fast and seem to take great delight in hovering really close to you just when you're changing the camera battery or otherwise unable to take a photograph.  Having said that, I'm not a professional photographer and managed to take the photos on this page with a fairly ordinary digital camera.  The strategy is take as many photos as possible and then delete the ones that show an empty space where a hummingbird was just a fraction of a second before...  To get the images here, I took over a thousand shots.  

Identifying the different types of hummingbird takes some practice.  The best book by far, in my opinion, is the huge, wonderfully detailed and beautifully illustrated The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide: Field Guide Vol II (Comstock Book), by Ridgely and Greenfield. (It may be cheaper to get the Birds of Ecuador Field Guide shipped from the United States, even if you live in the U.K).  As you watch a single hummingbird, it may appear to change colour from blue to green, or a drab-looking bird may suddenly seem to glitter and sparkle, because of the light reflecting from the feathers.  

Start by looking out for common and distinctive hummingbirds such as the rufous tailed - pink beak, green body and red tail, males and females look the same, though females are a little duller coloured.  Rufous tailed hummingbirds are often seen chasing other hummingbirds off 'their' flower or feeder.  Bear in mind that the green can appear quite dull or brightly glittering, depending on the light.  Juveniles sometimes seem to have paler underparts.  

Bear in mind that some species of hummingbird show sexual dimorphism, i.e. the males look very different from the females.  The male white-necked jacobin is unmistakeable and the male booted racket-tail is unique with his little fluffy white legs and long spatulate tail.  However, the female white-necked jacobin looks nothing like the male and does not even have a white neck.  The female booted racket-tail does have 'boots' but does not have a racquet tail.

The posture of a hummingbird can help indicate which family it belongs to.  The hermits have long curved bills and tend to tuck their tails slightly under making them look as if they are curved forwards. They often hover with their bodies in a nearly vertical position.  Woodstars, generally very small with shortish tails and straight bills, tend to hold their bodies more horizontally with their tails sticking upwards.

Hummingbird feeders, especially the type with little perches, are a great way to persuade the birds to stay in one place for a while.  Just because hummingbirds are able to hover in midair doesn't necessarily mean they want to...  

Many resorts and hotels in Ecuador put out feeders full of nectar which attract hundreds of hummingbirds.  One hotel I know refills the feeders up to six times a day and the tiny hummingbirds get through a whole sack of sugar in just a couple of months.  Hummingbirds don't survive on nectar alone though - most also eat small insects.

If you're lucky enough to live in an area with hummingbirds and decide to put out nectar (sugar and water), you need to continue.  Hummingbirds use huge amounts of energy flying and have a 'flight plan' to flowers or feeders where they know they can feed.  If the food supply just suddenly stops, the birds will suffer or even die if they are at the end of their energy reserves.  It's important to follow the instructions on your hummingbird feeder to provide the correct mix of sugar and water and also to keep the feeder clean (avoid chemical cleaning products though).

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Ecuador in Photos: Hummingbirds
Images of some of Ecuador's hummingbirds.  Photographs taken by Sarah Clifford at hummingbird feeders and in the wild in various Ecuador locations including San Luis de Pambil, Mindo and Bellavista.