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Why is the sword-billed hummingbird’s bill unusually long?

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Illustration of a chestnut-collared swift (Cypseloides rutilus) in flight, showing its dark brown body and wings with a distinctive reddish-brown collar around its neck. — Apodiform Chestnut-collared swift (*Cypseloides rutilus*)

The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) possesses an unusually long bill because it is specifically adapted for securing nectar from certain types of flowers.1

In hummingbirds, the shapes of their bills are often closely correlated with the shapes of the flowers from which they feed. The sword-billed hummingbird's bill is so long that it contributes more than half of the bird’s total 21-cm (8.3-inch) length, allowing it to reach nectar in flowers that other birds cannot access.21