Top 10 Most Beautiful and Colorful Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are some of the most captivating birds on the planet. Their stunning colors and ability to flutter their wings rapidly make them unlike any other animal. There are lots of colorful hummingbirds around the world, each with unique features and behaviors, so keep an eye out for them.
What are the Most Colorful Hummingbirds?
There’s no shortage of colorful hummingbirds, but the following types of hummingbirds are some of the most stunning and vibrant.
10. Violet Sabrewing
Photo by Becky Matsubara / CC BY 2.0
· Distribution range: Humid montane forests from southern Mexico to western Panama
· Personality traits: Docile but may be dominate at bird feeders due to their large size
· Habits: They use their thick, arched bills to collect nectar from deep flowers.
Violet sabrewings might not have a wide range of colors, but they’re one of the most colorful hummingbirds because of how vibrant they are. Their feathers are a mix of black, purple, and blue. Since the feathers are iridescent, the bold coloring looks different depending on the angle you look at the birds from. They’re larger than the average hummingbird, growing 5.1 to 5.9 inches long.
9. Rainbow Starfrontlet
· Distribution range: Subtropical and tropical forests ranging from southern Ecuador to northern Peru
· Personality traits: Territorial and noisy (producing high-pitched chatter)
· Habits: Males fiercely defend their feeding territory, aggressively chasing away other males and animals they deem threats.
Most of the rainbow starfrontlet’s coloring is reddish-brown, but its head has an impressive display of colors. The head is iridescent green, and the males have a fluffy crest that seems to have all the colors of the rainbow in the right lighting.
8. Crowned Woodnymph
· Distribution range: Tropical lowland forests from Belize and Guatemala to northern Peru
· Personality traits: Energetic, fast, and territorial
· Habits: They may puff up their chests and raise their wings to make themselves look intimidating.
Crowned woodnymphs have striking green heads and purple bodies. Males also have a purple crown on their heads. As pretty as they are, these birds can be territorial, especially during the breeding season. In many cases, the vibrant plumage of these birds is enough to deter threats.
7. Red-Tailed Comet
Photo by Nick Athanas / CC BY 2.0
· Distribution range: Shrubby slopes of the Andes Mountains, particularly from central Bolivia to northern Argentina.
· Personality traits: Solitary and territorial (especially males)
· Habits: While these birds feed on nectar like other hummingbirds, they also regularly catch arthropods like insects in flight.
From the front, these birds appear to have bold green feathers, but it’s their tails that stand out the most. The tails, which are much longer on males, are a mix of shimmering pink, red, and orange hues. A male’s tail can be up to three times the bird’s body length.
6. Rufous-Crested Coquette
Photo by Joseph C Boone / CC BY-SA 3.0
· Distribution range: Tropical mountainsides of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica
· Personality traits: Agile, confident, and solitary
· Habits: They make rapid, high-pitched calls that are significantly quieter than the average bird calls.
The most vibrant coloring on the rufous-crested coquette is the bright orange crests on the males. They can raise their bright orange feathers to communicate with other birds, especially when trying to attract mates. The rest of the bird’s body is shimmering green with patches of white, orange, and brown.
5. Marvelous Spatuletail
Photo by thibaudaronson / CC BY-SA 4.0
· Distribution range: Forests and scrublands in a small area of northern Peru
· Personality traits: Confident, regularly visiting feeders while chasing away other birds as needed
· Habits: Males show off their tails while “dancing” in the sky to attract mates.
The marvelous spatuletail earned its unique name for a reason. Males each have two long, narrow tails with rounded iridescent violet-blue feathers on the end. Then, their bodies have patches of green, white, blue, and purple.
4. Velvet-Purple Coronet
Photo by Andy Morffew / CC BY 2.0
· Distribution range: Mossy, humid forests along the Pacific coast of the Andes Mountains
· Personality traits: Defensive, territorial, and graceful
· Habits: They sometimes briefly cling to flowers to feed rather than hovering near them.
These small, colorful hummingbirds almost look too sleek and majestic to be real. They’re identified by their dark-colored heads, which have a hint of purple, and their iridescent blue, green, and purple bodies.
3. Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird
· Distribution range: Tropical areas of South America, specifically from eastern Panama to central Brazil and northern Bolivia
· Personality traits: Agile, protective, and solitary (doesn’t form long-term pairs)
· Habits: Males of this species attract females by spreading out their vibrant tails and raising their crests while flying in circles.
Ruby-topaz hummingbirds have unique coloring that differs from similar species. Males are more vibrant, with red or pink feathers on top of their heads, yellow throats, and orange tail feathers.
2. Long-Tailed Sylph
Photo by Andy Morffew / CC BY 2.0
· Distribution range: Tropical forests in the Andes of South America
· Personality traits: Solitary and avoidant (keeps a distance from humans)
· Habits: They’re nearly silent when they fly, appearing suddenly to collect nectar from flowers. They usually pierce flowers to feed.
Male long-tailed sylphs have a beautiful mixture of shimmery blue, green, and purple feathers. They have a blue ribbon-like tail that’s longer than their body length. The males show off their tails when trying to attract females or intimidate predators.
1. Fiery-Throated Hummingbird
Photo by Joseph C. Boone / CC BY-SA 3.0
· Distribution range: Mountains in Costa Rica and western Panama
· Personality traits: Territorial and dominant toward most other hummingbirds
· Habits: They feed on flowers that grow on other plans for support, utilizing holes made by insects to reach the nectar.
Fiery-throated hummingbirds have iridescent blue and green feathers like many other types of hummingbirds. They stand out because of the bright red and orange coloring near their throat, which makes it look like their throat is on fire.
Exploring the Types of Hummingbirds
There are currently 366 species of hummingbirds worldwide. These types of hummingbirds are divided into 113 genera, including Lophornis (coquettes), Heliodoxa (brilliants), Campylopterus (sabrewings), and Phaethornis (hermits).
These types of hummingbirds are split up based on aspects like their physical traits, DNA, and behaviors. They’re all stunning in their own ways.
Why Color Matters
Not only are hummingbirds colorful, but their feathers are also iridescent, meaning they shimmer and seem to change colors when you look at them from different angles. Because of this wide range of solid and iridescent colors, they’re the most colorful bird family in the world.
Researchers believe that their colorful plumage is the result of the birds competing for mates for millions of years. Like many other animal species, female hummingbirds are attracted to the males with the most vibrant coloring. So, these birds evolved by passing down and amplifying colorful traits over time to result in the bold birds we have today.
You Don’t Want to Miss Colorful Hummingbirds
Seeing a hummingbird in the wild is a breathtaking experience. Yet, they only visit yards on specific occasions. While regular bird feeders are excellent for most birds, hummingbirds eat nectar rather than seeds. Planting lots of flowers, especially ones that are red, orange, and pink, can attract hummingbirds to your property.
You can also set up a hummingbird feeder and fill it with a mixture of sugar and water. Colorful hummingbirds may hover near the feeder to sip the liquid. A smart hummingbird feeder is an excellent way to observe the beautiful birds visiting your feeder without startling them.
