Birdland: En Garde
Sword-billed Hummingbirds have the longest bill in relation to their body size of any bird in the world. And they put those long bills to use. These hummingbirds have co-evolved with the passionflower, which holds nectar at the bottom of their long corolla tubes. Sword-bills provide critical pollination, as no other bird has a bill long enough to reach as deep inside the flowers. Unfortunately, you won’t find any Sword-billed Hummingbirds in Colorado as they live only in South America. This swashbuckler was spotted in Ecuador by Park Hill photographer Mark Silverstein.