(Part of the) common name of many species of the family Trochilidae (order Apodiformes) and in the plural the general term for the family (over 300 species). Many species however, are known by special names that in most cases refers to the plumage. They are not represented in Europe and are therefore not included in this program. Hummingbirds constitute one of the most homogeneous and highly specialised group of birds and do not show close relations with any other family but are generally associated with the swifts (Apodidae) in one order. The name derives from the sound made by the vibration of their wings during flight. The family is strictly confined to the New World where it is represented in all territories except the Galápagos Isles, especially in (sub)tropical regions. As a rule they can only live in areas with abundant insect-life and/or (less important) an abundance in flowers. Their most diminutive size, the brilliance and iridescence of their plumage, and the speed and singularities of their flight make them very popular. Most species are of smaller size than a Wren Troglodytes troglodytes and the smallest of all (and all birds), the Bee Hummingbird is comparable in size to a bumble-bee, having a total length of little more than 5 cm of which almost half is accounted for by bill and tail. The skeleton is specially adapted to their powerful and vibrating flight, with a relatively massive sternal keel (to which the flight muscles are fastened) and short bones of the limbs (as a consequence they can't walk on the ground). The wings are typically oar-shaped and have ten primaries and a few short secondaries. Their flight consists almost invariably of an uninterrupted succession of wing-beats at very high frequency, up to 50 or more per second for the smallest species, and appears as a mere blur to human eyes. Hummingbirds can reach considerable speed with their flight, but can also hover to remain stationary when feeding; because of their vibrating flight, they are the only birds that can fly backwards! They have a thin and sharply pointed bill (often decurved and in a few cases curved upwards) in which a very long, protractile and bitubular (ending in two tube-like tips) tongue is hidden. This is mostly used to feed on nectar (or insects), obtained by hovering in front of a flower and introducing the bill into the mouth of the corolla, which allows the tongue to reach the nectar at the bottom. When the corolla is to long for this, the side may be pierced by the bill. The diet of many hummingbirds however, also consists of small (soft) insects (sometimes the sole element), which are often caught on the wing. Unlike most other birds, the sexes generally live independently of each other except during the mating season, during which males perform courtship displays (sometimes in groups). The females undertake all duties of nest-building, incubating eggs and rearing the young. The young have no downy stage but are born naked and their first plumage resembles more or less (no ornamentation and duller coloured) the adult dress. They live solitary, often in small territories defended to intruders. Because of their high metabolic rate, they are in a frequent need of food and are highly active and vivid during the day. After dusk however, they are very quiet and usually perched on a twig.

Alternative form for hummingbirds : hummingbird.