The smallest bird in the world, the bee hummingbird clocks in at just 5.5cm in length (for males, females are slightly larger at around 6.1 cm).

Bee hummingbird – 5.5cm/1.95g

Just slightly larger is the Esmeraldas woodstar, also a species of hummingbird. This whimsically named bird can be found only on the coast of west Ecuador. 

Esmeraldas Woodstar  – 6.4cm 

The calliope hummingbird is the smallest native bird of the United States and Canada. At 7cm from beak to tail tip, it is about the length of a Bic lighter.

Calliope hummingbird – 7cm/2g

The final hummingbird on our list is perhaps the most striking, the males of this species having a bright purple cap and throat, making them look like a particularly angry plum.

Costa’s Hummingbird  – 7.6 cm/3.05g

Standing out with its unique appearance, the Philodendron Tortum commands a price tag of over Rs  30,000 for a medium-sized plant.These plants require ample space to accommodate their rapid growth and thrive in high humidity environments.

Philodendron Tortum

Less vibrant but almost as tiny is the pale-billed flowerpecker, an olive-green bird found on the Indian subcontinent. It has a mutually beneficial relationship with the mistletoe species Dendrophthoe falcata. 

Pale-billed flowerpecker – 8 cm/4g

Australia’s smallest bird, the tiny Weebil,l perched on a branch.The aptly named wee-bill is a nondescript grey-and-yellow bird with a particularly stubby beak. It is Australia’s smallest bird.

Weebill  – 8cm/6g

Cape penduline tit perched on a branch in Angola.Found in southern Africa, this petite passerine is known for the nests they build from soft materials such as spider webs, sheep’s wool and plant fibres.

Cape penduline tit – 8cm/8g

Similar in looks, but much rarer is the Firecrest. In addition to the yellow crown, they also have a black eyestripe and a white supercilium or eyebrow stripe.

Common Firecrest  – 9.3cm/5.5g

A goldcrest in a pine tree in the Scottish Highlands. Next up is the UK’s smallest bird, known very grandly as 'king of the birds' in European folklore (hence the scientific name regulus, meaning king).

Goldcrest – 9cm/5.7g

This colourful little bird, Australia’s smallest after the Weebill, is also known as the headache bird. This is due to its characteristic repetitive call that may aggravate listeners with its relentlessness in the breeding season.

Spotted pardalote  – 9.5 cm/6g
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