Giant Hummingbird

About the Giant Hummingbird

The southern giant hummingbird (Patagona gigas) is one of two species in the genus Patagona and the second largest hummingbird species, after its close relative the northern giant hummingbird. It and the sympatric northern giant hummingbird (P. peruviana) were once considered the same species, i.e., the giant hummingbird, though some researchers have already classified them as different species or subspecies in the past. Genomic analysis supports the separation of the two species which shows that they diverged between 2.1 and 3.4 million years ago, in the late Pliocene. Williamson and colleagues attributed the binomial name Patagona chaski to the northern giant hummingbird in 2024, but this taxon was already described as Patagona peruviana by Adolphe Boucard in 1893, so P. chaski is a junior synonym of P. peruviana.

Its mass is in the range of 17–31 g (0.60–1.09 oz), making it approximately twice as heavy as the next largest hummingbird. It has a wingspan of 21.5 cm (8.5 in), with a body length of 23 cm (9.1 in). The two subspecies are visually distinguishable. P. g. peruviana is yellowish brown overall and has white on the chin and throat, where P... Wikipedia →