Hummingbird Pictures

Contrasting family lists produced by the American Ornithologists' Union (OAU) and the American Birding Association (ABA) often serves as an indicator that the bird family in question favors either a temperate or tropical climate.

Such is the case for the hummingbird family, Trochilinae. The 112 species on the OAU list covers Central America, Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 23 species on the ABA list covers the United States and Canada.

Taking into account that nine of the twenty three ABA species make the list as either occasional visitors or rare strays, the statistics strongly lean to supporting the hypothesis of hummingbird diversity as a function of environment. Hummingbirds thrive in tropical and subtropical environments.

Despite their predominantly migratory behavior, a few species overwinter in and around their breeding areas. Anna's hummingbirds, for example, winter along the West Coast in California and Oregon.

Hummingbird territorial behavior often translates into long term relationships between homeowners and species. Households that place feeders around the yard often see the same species throughout the season, and in some instances, the same species return from season to season.

The western breeding species choose many different habitats from desert scrub lands to alpine forests.

As a group, they are relatively friendly birds, amenable to human presence around their favorite food sources. Their friendliness often does not extend to other hummingbirds in their area, and watching hummingbirds fight over a feeding area can be an enjoyable way to learn about their territorial instincts.

The Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas) is the world's largest hummingbird species.

The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the world's smallest hummingbird along with being the word's smallest bird.

The Links in the box on the right point to articles covering general hummingbird topics along with specific species information.

© 2001-2011 Patricia A. Michaels.