Family Trochilidae

The family Trochilidae is entirely restricted to the Americas. Hummingbirds rank among the smallest of all birds and reach their highest species diversity in humid tropical and subtropical forests of the northern Andes and adjacent foothills. Their diet consists of largely nectar obtained from flowers supplemented by insect they catch in the wing. Hummingbird bill shapes vary dramatically as an adaptation for specialized feeding. Many of the hummingbird species have brightly-colored plumages. In many species, the coloring does not come from pigmentation in the feather structure, but instead from prism-like cells within the top layers of the feathers.