Types of Hummingbirds

Additional Hummingbird Resources Hummingbird Habitat Hummingbird Plants Types of Hummingbirds Pictures of Hummingbirds

The small, hovering birds called hummingbirds belong to a fairly large bird family (Trochilidae) consisting of approximately three hundred and forty species.

The family divides into two subfamilies:

• Subfamily Phaethornithinae - hermit hummingirds
• Subfamily Trochilinae - typical hummingbirds

and further divided into over one hundred genera, with most of the species being the sole representative of their genera.

Hummingbirds are classified as new world birds, meaning they are only found in North, Central and South America.

All of the breeding hummingbirds found in the United States belong to the Trochilinae subfamily, the category containing the most species, as well as the most colorful species.

None of the species that breed in the United States.

At year end 2008, twenty three different species were listed as either endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Habitat loss is cited at the primary factor for the endangered status.

© 2008. Patricia A. Michaels