rekordy: Hummingbird

Evidence: 94 • authority: 72

Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 375 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Central and South America. As of 2026, 21 hummingbird species are listed as endangered or critically endangered, with about 255 species declining in population. Hummingbirds have varied specialized characteristics to enable rapid, maneuverable flight: exceptional metabolic capacity, adaptations to high altitude, sensitive visual and communication abilities, and long-distance migration in some species. Among all birds, male hummingbirds have the widest diversity of plumage color,…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 92

Extreme elevational migration spurred cryptic speciation in giant hummingbirds.. The ecoevolutionary drivers of species niche expansion or contraction are critical for biodiversity but challenging to infer. Niche expansion may be promoted by local adaptation or constrained by physiological performance trade-offs. For birds, evolutionary shifts in migratory behavior permit the broadening of the climatic niche by expansion into varied, seasonal environments. Broader niches can be short-lived if diversifying selection and geography promote speciation and niche subdivision across climatic gradients. To illuminate niche breadth dynamics, we can ask how "outlier" species defy constraints. Of the…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

Size is an important aspect of dinosaur paleontology, of interest to both the general public and professional scientists. Dinosaurs show some of the most extreme variations in size of any land animal group, ranging from the bee hummingbird, weighing just three grams, to the extinct titanosaurs, such as Argentinosaurus and Bruhathkayosaurus, which could weigh as much as 50–130 t (55–143 short tons). The latest evidence suggests that dinosaurs' average size varied through the Triassic, early Jurassic, late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and dinosaurs probably only became widespread during the early or mid Jurassic. Predatory theropod dinosaurs, which occupied most terrestrial carnivore nich…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

The giant hummingbirds are hummingbirds of the genus Patagona. The genus includes two species, the sedentary giant hummingbird and the migratory giant hummingbird, which are the largest and second largest species of hummingbird respectively.

Evidence: 33 • authority: 88

Songs distinguish the cryptic giant hummingbird species and clarify range limits. ABSTRACT Vocal traits are often essential for distinguishing phenotypically cryptic taxa. The hummingbird genus Patagona comprises two species, near identical in plumage and morphology, that differ in almost every aspect of their ecology and evolution: The Northern Giant Hummingbird ( Patagona peruviana ) and Southern Giant Hummingbird ( Patagona gigas ). Here, we characterized the songs of both giant hummingbird species and assessed whether song can be used to distinguish the two in the field. We recorded both species in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile in 2023 and 2025 and used public data to analyze song variation…

Evidence: 33 • authority: 88

THE GIANT HUMMINGBIRD <i>PATAGONA GIGAS</i> IN ECUADOR. Summary The Giant Hummingbird Patagona gigas was studied in highland Ecuador in 1968–70. The northern and southern limits of its known distribution were extended, but east‐west range and altitudinal limits were as restricted as noted by other authors. Its distribution elsewhere in South America is also reviewed, as are the taxonomy of various populations and breeding records. It is concluded that northern Ecuador is not reached by migrants from central Chile. Locally, Agave americana was the principal source of nectar, and the Ecuadorian range of the bird corresponds with the distribution of this plant. Further south, where the birds o…

Evidence: 33 • authority: 80

News at a glance: Debate over classifying research, giant water lilies, and new hummingbird feather colors