Ensifera ensifera
Silhouette: Ernst Haeckel (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the only member in the genus Ensifera. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually long bill, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses its bill to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas and has coevolved with the species Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their bills, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its bill being so long.
The sword-billed hummingbird is a trap-line feeder and feeds on nectar, especially from Passiflora mixta and other passionflowers. It also hawks for insects. It breeds from February to March and builds cup nests using moss. The sword-billed hummingbird is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List, but is threatened by climate change and deforestation.
The sword-billed hummingbird was first described as Ornismya ensifera by Auguste Boissonneau in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sword-billed Hummingbird sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 443 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 110th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sword-billed Hummingbird in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and September–October, the lowest months. That is one of Los Nevados National Natural Park's wettest months, with about 300 mm of rain against 100 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sword-billed 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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Sword-billed Hummingbird sightings, Los Nevados National Natural Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Chingaza National Natural Park (Colombia, under 5%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Sword-billed Hummingbird that you can see in Los Nevados National Natural Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Shining Sunbeam (about 40%), Great Sapphirewing (about 40%) and Golden-breasted Puffleg (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sword-billed Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (443 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.
