localquail's Identifications

That is the longest bill I’ve ever seen on a Hummingbird. I wonder if anyone ever gets impaled watching high numbers of hummingbirds swarming at feeders? Location was high up in the mountains at Hacienda El Bosque in Manizales County in Colombia.

Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is a slender hummingbird with an exceptionally long bill in the Brilliants, Coquettes, and Allies (Lesbiinae) subfamily that is 14cm (5.5 inches) long. It is found in dry to wet upper montane forests and forest borders. Female bill is longer than male bill.

Ebird: with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/swbhum1
"it has the longest bill in relation to its body size of any bird in the world. In addition to the striking bill, look for the overall muted green body color with a bronzy head. It is found in the temperate zone of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, from around 2,500m to 3,500m, in montane forest and edges, where it uses its bill to feed from long tubular flowers. It visits feeders."

Birds of Colombia, by Steven L. Hilty, March, 2021 (excellent color illustrations, species distribution maps, QR codes,), p. 94.

Ebird Checklist (#36 in list): https://ebird.org/checklist/S191402450

Confirmed observation of Sword-billed Hummingbird nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/242016759

Irene's Hummingbird (Trochilidae family) observations on INaturalist, worldwide: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=5562&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any

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Merlin Bird ID: How to use/get the portable App (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Found Feathers: INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/found-feathers
Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/
Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

Irene's Ebird Profile: https://ebird.org/profile/MTIwNjIzMg and my worldwide bird checklists: https://ebird.org/mychecklists

Irene's (aparrot1) Profile Page on INaturalist listing Nature Resources (includes online references with links) for Plants, Birds, Fungi, Lepidoptera, Arachnids, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine Life, Plant Galls, and more: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/3188668

The peaked crown on Oak Titmouse is often not visible (same with cockatoos, for example, who raise their crown when interested, excited, or agitated). Oak woodlands and riparian habitat are nearby.

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) is a small, gray insectivore in the Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice (Paridae) family. It is 5 inches long, grayish brown with a short head crest blueish-gray feet, and a pointed bill (thicker than Bushtit). Oak Titmouse is commonly seen in oak and mixed woodland habitat. It forages by hopping about in branches and larger twigs of trees, sometimes hanging upside down, searching for insects among the foliage and on the bark. It opens nuts and acorns by holding them with feet and pounding with bill. It will come to bird feeders for seeds or suet. Diet consists of insects, nuts, and seeds. It feeds mainly on insects, including many caterpillars, beetles, true bugs, leafhoppers, aphids, scale insects, and small spiders. It also eats acorns, weed seeds, and sometimes berries or small fruits.

Link to my favorite Oak Titmouse observations with "classic" raised crest: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228958277 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/190842051

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada, includes Compare with Similiar Species) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Oak_Titmouse/ and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/search/?q=Baeolophus%20inornatus

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/oak-titmouse

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007, p. 286

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 292-293.

Xeno-canto Bird songs, sound recordings, and species range map: https://xeno-canto.org/species/Baeolophus-inornatus

Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/oaktit/

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, p.353.

Irene's Paridae family (Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice) observations on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=13547&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any

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Merlin Bird ID: How to use/get the portable App (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Found Feathers: INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/found-feathers
Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/
Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

Irene's Ebird Profile: https://ebird.org/profile/MTIwNjIzMg and my worldwide bird checklists: https://ebird.org/mychecklists

Irene's Birds (Aves class) observations on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=3&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any

Irene's (aparrot1) Profile Page on INaturalist listing Nature Resources (includes online references with links) for Plants, Birds, Fungi, Lepidoptera, Arachnids, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine Life, Plant Galls, and more: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/3188668

It takes a lot of time and effort for a Swallow to collect wet mud in their small mouth and bring it back one mouthful at a time to build a large mud nest. Very impressive animal architecture!

Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is a fast-flying, migratory, highly social bird in the Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae) family. They live in colonies and are best known for building mud nests, often on man-made structures.

The Cornell Lab: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cliff_Swallow/
"Cliff Swallows often swarm around bridges and overpasses in summer, offering passers-by a chance to admire avian architecture and family life at once. Clusters of their intricate mud nests cling to vertical walls, and when a Cliff Swallow is home you can see its bright forehead glowing from the dim entrance. These common, sociable swallows are nearly always found in large groups, whether they’re chasing insects high above the ground, preening on perches, or dipping into a river for a bath."

E Bird: https://ebird.org/species/cliswa/
Cliff Swallow is a "compact swallow with a short, square tail. In flight, looks slightly less angular than other swallows, with more rounded wings. Note pale buffy-orange rump, which separates Cliff Swallow from most other swallows in this range. Also look for dark throat and pale forehead. Widespread and fairly common, especially in western North America. Breeds under bridges, eaves of buildings, overpasses, and culverts. Winters in South America. Before man-made structures, it built its jug-shaped mud nests on the sides of cliffs. However, the sides of barns and the supports of bridges provided sheltered sites that were far more widespread than the natural ones. Taking advantage of these artificial locations, the species has moved to many areas where it never nested before. Although it is continuing to spread in the east, it is still more common in the west, where practically every culvert and highway bridge seems to have its own Cliff Swallow colony."
E Bird: https://ebird.org/species/cliswa/

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide and https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/cliff-swallow

Bird songs and sound recordings from around the world https://xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Petrochelidon%20pyrrhonota

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BIRD (References in general):

The Cornell Lab (Birds in U.S. and Canada, includes Compare with Similiar Species) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/

Xeno-canto: Bird songs, sound recordings, bird range and migration map: https://xeno-canto.org/about/xeno-canto

Audubon Guide to North American Birds https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide

Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/explore

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008

Monterey Birds, Don Roberson, 2nd ed. 2002, sponsored by Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society

Merlin Bird ID: How to use/get the portable App (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php