On our first day hiking the Inca trail in Peru, our tour guides from Andean Life set up our lunch tent in a very pristine location. Our group had hiked three or four miles from our start at km82 in the Andes mountains and immersed in the South American wilderness. The location we stopped and ate at had an amazing clearing, with a flowering plant that just happened to be this amazing bird’s perch. Words can’t explain how excited we were to discover, that bird was none only than the Giant Hummingbird!!

The Giant Hummingbird only exists at 6,500-11,000 feet above sea level, in the Andes of South America, from northern Ecuador to central Chile and Argentina.

{photo © Chris Cutler }


{just look at those wings!! photo © Chris Cutler }


A more typical hummingbird, such as the Rufous Hummingbird (below), weighs approximately 3 g (0.106 ounces) and has a length of 3.5–4 inches.

{click images to view larger; photos © Lacy, Flickr.com}


The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird, with some individuals weighing as much as 24 grams (0.85 ounces) and measuring 8.5 inches!!

{photos © Chris Cutler }


Another cool fact about hummingbirds, hummingbirds are found only in the Americas, from southern Alaska and Canada to Tierra del Fuego, including the Caribbean. The majority of species occur in tropical Central and South America, but several species also breed in temperate areas.

Wikipedia link - Giant Hummingbird
Wikipedia link - Hummingbird

This was most certainly one of the big highlights of traveling to South America! We can’t wait to go back again for a birding trip and hopefully a tour of the Amazon basin. Did you know there are PINK RIVER DOLPHINS that still exist there?!!

❀jenn