Common Name: Sword-billed Hummingbird
Scientific Name: Ensifera ensifera

Distribution: South America; Andes from W Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to NC Bolivia.

Biology: The Sword-billed Hummingbird is a spectacular avian species.
With a bill that makes up half of its body length, the Sword-bill has the longest bill-to-body ratio of any species of bird in the world. The extraordinarily elongated bill enables this hummingbird to access nectar from flowers that no other nectarivorous bird can reach, which allows the Sword-bills to avoid competition from other nectar-loving species. The species also supplements its diet with insects.
The species is found at 1700–3500 m elevation in humid to semi-humid forest.

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern
The Sword-bill has a wide distribution in the Andean Mountains, and can be locally common in some parts of its range. Because of its unique physiology and appearance it has received great conservational attention, and many reserves has made efforts to improve its habitat in order to attract it, for the sake of Eco-tourism.