Hummingbirds can be found in North America, Central America, South America and many islands of the Caribbean Sea. According to the International Ornithologists’ Union (IOU), the hummingbird family has 366 species and 112 genera, mostly south of the United States. Hummingbirds comprise the family Trochilidae, among the smallest of birds, with most species measuring between 7.6-12.7cm (3″-5″). They are called hummingbird due to the “humming” sound created by beating their wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to other birds as well as humans. The 1967 Panama minisheet at top shows a White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) approaching an orchid.
The beauty of the birds’ colouring is seen throughout this article, witness these 1965 stamps from Upper Volta (since 1984 Burkina Faso), (featuring left to right): a Pygmy Sunbird (Hedydipna platura), an olive-bellied sunbird (Panaeola chloropygia), a Splendid sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigaster) and an Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinica).
From Montserrat: a nesting Blue-headed hummingbird (Cyanophaia bicolor), a Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus), an Antillean crested hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) and a Purple-throated carib (Eulampis jugularis).
Four hummingbird stamps issued by Bahamas in 1989: 10c Cuban emerald, 40c Ruby-throated, 45c Bahama Woodstar, 50c Rufous hummingbird.
The stamp sheet above from Brazil (1991), has hummingbirds and orchids and was produced for the 8th “Brapex” exhibition.
And here is a fine definitives set produced by the Grenadines of St. Vincent in 1992.
Not to be outdone, Cuba issued these World Wildlife Fund “Fauna threatened with extinction” stamps in 1992.
Produced by the United States in 1992 and seen here, left to right, we see a Ruby Throated Hummingbird; a Broad-Billed Hummingbird; Costa’s Hummingbird; a Rufous Hummingbird, which summers as far north as Alaska. Its migration is one of the longest of all birds as it winters in Mexico – a distance of almost 6,400 kilometers; and a Calliope Hummingbird, which is the smallest bird in North America.
The 2022 Romania hummingbird issue has a unique feature – a centimeter ruler on the left of the stamp indicating the size of each bird. A ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is depicted on the 4.50 Lei stamp; a bee hummingbird (Calypte helenae), seen on the 6.50 Lei stamp, is an endemic species of the Cuban archipelago – the bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird; in contrast the giant hummingbird (Pantagona gigas), illustrated on the 10L stamp is the largest of the species. The 10.50L Allen’s hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), is one of the seven species of the genus Selasphorus.
Two beautiful stamp sheets from 2023 issued by Grenada. Above a black-throated mango hummingbird (Anthracothorax nigricollis) and a purple-throated carib (Eulampis jugularis), and the sheet below has the vervain hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) and a Bahama woodstar (Calliphlox evelynae).
