Images: Beautiful Hummingbirds of the World

Rufous humminbird (Selasphorus rufus)

(Image credit: Dean E. Briggins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)

Rufous hummingbirds generally inhabit the west coast of North America.A total of 338 species of hummingbird are known to live on the planet, making hummingbirds one of the most diverse groups of birds. Researchers recently created the first comprehensive evolutionary tree of hummingbirds, and found that they have diversified quite rapidly over the past 22 million years, and continue to diversify today.

Rufous hummingbird

birds and bees — (Image credit: Birdiegal | Shutterstock)

A Rufous hummingbird and a bumblebee fly toward Crocosmia flowers. Hummingbird beaks have evolved to fit in certain types of flowers.

Anna's hummingbird

The Anna's hummingbird is native to the west coast of North America.

Broad-tailed hummingbird

Hummingbird at flower — (Image credit: David W. Inouye)

Broad-tailed hummingbirds inhabit regions of the western United States as well as Central America.

Volcano Hummingbird

This is a volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula) photographed on Cerro de la Muerte in Costa Rica. This species of Bee hummingbird uses its modified tail feathers to produce sound during its aerial courtship displays.

Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird

Scientists have caught a rare glimpse of a male Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird twirling its spoon-shaped tail in a courtship display.

Female white-necked jacobin hummingbird

(Image credit: JNB Photography | Shutterstock)

White-necked jacobins are native to Central and South America.

Booted racket-tail hummingbird

Booted racket-tails live in the Andes Mountains, as well as in Venezuela.

Chestnut-breasted coronet hummingbird

Chestnut-breasted Coronets live in the Andes.

Purple-throated woodstar hummingbird

Purple-throated woodstars live mostly in Colombia and Ecuador, with a small population in Panama.

Laura Poppick is a contributing writer for Live Science, with a focus on earth and environmental news. Laura has a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Laura has a good eye for finding fossils in unlikely places, will pull over to examine sedimentary layers in highway roadcuts, and has gone swimming in the Arctic Ocean.