Juan Fernández Firecrown - Juan Fernández Archipelago

Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk, and Santa Clara Islands lie 670 kilometers off the Chilean coast and make up the archipelago of Juan Fernández. They were discovered by Juan Fernández, a Spanish explorer, in 1574. Pirates, taking advantage of the isolated location, used the islands as a refuge in the 16th and 17th century.

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Sephanoides fernandensis - The difference between the male and female Juan Fernández firecrown once had scientists thinking they were separate species. Female hummingbirds usually lack the colorful plumage found in males, but the coloration of a female firecrown is more prominent than the male’s. The male has an orange body, dark grey wings, and a small iridescent yellow crown. The female has a blueish-green upper body, a greyish-white lower body speckled with green and black, and a large iridescent crown of blue feathers.

Bee Hummingbird - Cuba

The main island of Cuba ranks as the largest Caribbean island in size and the seventeenth largest island in the world. This feature has provided Cuba with a flora and fauna exceeding any other Caribbean country. The second largest island of Cuba is Isla de la Juventud, the Isle of Youth.

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Mellisuga helenae - Weighing no more than 2 grams and reaching a length rarely exceeding 6 centimeters, the bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird; it is slightly larger than a bee. The female uses bits of cobweb and plant fibers to build her nest and deposits two pea-sized eggs. The bee humming bird derives its food primarily from plant nectar and prefers dense wooded grounds along coastal areas featuring the chalice vine. Humming birds have high rates of metabolism and dedicate much of their time searching for food.

Bufft-tailed Sicklebill Hummingbird - Ecuador

Ecuador is named for its location on the equator, an imaginary line separating the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth. Ecuador is the only country where temperature and latitude can reach zero. Cayambe, a volcano of 5,790 meters, is a mountain located on the equator featuring a permanent snow cover.

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Eutoxeres condamini - The buff-tailed sicklebill hummingbird measures 13 to 15 centimeters in length; males being slightly larger than females. It is one of the largest hummingbirds and is endemic to Southern Colombia and Northern Ecuador. The sharp downward curvature of its bill is an adaptation allowing it to feed primarily on flowers of the centropogon and heliconia genera. The buff-tailed sicklebill is a trap-line feeder. This term describes birds feeding on the same plant on a regular and timely schedule.