---
title: "Sword-billed Hummingbird"
description: "Ensifera ensifera — Birds. The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/sword-billed-hummingbird
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Sword-billed Hummingbird

> Ensifera ensifera — Birds. The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America.

- Scientific name: *Ensifera ensifera*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `mountains` (Mountains)
- iNaturalist observations: 1247
- Wikidata: [Q385548](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q385548)
- iNaturalist taxon: [6458](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/6458)

## Names

- en: Sword-billed Hummingbird
- de: Schwertschnabelkolibri
- es: Colibrí picoespada
- fr: Colibri porte-épée
- nl: Zwaardkolibrie
- pt: Beija-flor-bico-de-espada
- pl: Mieczodziobek

## Countries with the most observations

EC (548), CO (523), PE (124)

## Summary

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…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword-billed_hummingbird

## Photo

![Sword-billed Hummingbird](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/sword-billed-hummingbird/medium.jpg)

Photo: Irene · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/242016759

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/sword-billed-hummingbird?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).