Patagona gigas
Silhouette: Chrissy McClarren & Andy Reago (original photograph) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The southern giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) is one of two species in the genus Patagona and the second largest hummingbird species, after its close relative the northern giant hummingbird. It and the sympatric northern giant hummingbird (P. peruviana) were once considered the same species, i.e., the giant hummingbird, though some researchers have already classified them as different species or subspecies in the past. Genomic analysis supports the separation of the two species which shows that they diverged between 2.1 and 3.4 million years ago, in the late Pliocene. Williamson and colleagues attributed the binomial name Patagona chaski to the northern giant hummingbird in 2024, but this taxon was already described as Patagona peruviana by Adolphe Boucard in 1893, so P. chaski is a junior synonym of P. peruviana.
Its mass is in the range of 17–31 g (0.60–1.09 oz), making it approximately twice as heavy as the next largest hummingbird. It has a wingspan of 21.5 cm (8.5 in), with a body length of 23 cm (9.1 in). The two subspecies are visually distinguishable. P. g. peruviana is yellowish brown overall and has white on the chin and throat, where P... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Hummingbird sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 133 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Giant Hummingbird in Lauca National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January–April and November, the lowest months. That is one of Lauca National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 150 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Giant Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Lauca National Park, in our data
Lauca National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Giant Hummingbird sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Giant Hummingbird that you can see in Lauca National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Andean Hillstar (about 50%) and Sparkling Violetear (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Giant Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (133 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
