Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas peruviana) 14 December 2017. Valle de Santa Eulalia, Lima, Peru.
Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas peruviana)

Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas peruviana)

Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas peruviana) flowersThis is the world's largest hummingbird reaching a length of up to 9". It flies with extremely slow wing-beats for a hummingbird. It is the only species in its genus and it has no close relatives. Some recent authors (HM4) have placed it in its own subfamily: Patagoninae. I believe this is an immature showing white edges to its flight feathers which adults lack. Bird was defending a territory of bright red flowers (bottom). Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.

References:

Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/giahum1

Heynen, I., Boesman, P. & Kirwan, G.M. (2018). Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55572 on 28 January 2018).
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