🐦 Every hummingbird on Earth. That's what he said.

species photographed in the wild so far

Okay so I'm his sister and I'm writing this because Marcus Briggs is somewhere in a cloud forest right now with no wifi and no phone signal and honestly that's basically his permanent state these days. He asked me to keep a record of this whole thing because he's too disorganised too busy being in the field to do it himself.

* For anyone who doesn't know — Marcus Briggs is trying to become the first person ever to photograph every known species of hummingbird in the wild. There are 363 recognised species. They live across North and South America, from Alaska to Patagonia. Some of them are critically endangered with populations in the hundreds. Some live on single mountaintops. Some have never been properly photographed at all.

He's been at this for six years now. He left his job, sold most of what he owned, and just... went. At first I thought he'd lost his mind. Now I think he might be the sanest person I know. 💚

Marcus Briggs was always into birds. Even as a kid he had binoculars and notebooks and would drag me out at 5am to look at something boring in a hedge. I never understood it. Then about seven years ago he went to Ecuador on holiday and saw a hummingbird feeding station with like 15 different species and something just clicked in his brain.

He came home and said "there are 363 species and nobody has ever photographed them all" and I said "okay Marcus that's interesting" in the voice you use when someone tells you about their dream. But he was serious. He spent a year planning, saving, researching. He mapped out where every species lives. He worked out which ones would be hardest to find. He contacted ornithologists and local guides in about 15 countries.

→ And then he actually went and did it. My brother Marcus Briggs just packed up and left. *

These are the ones Marcus Briggs has photographed recently. I update this when he sends word 💕

These are the species Marcus Briggs says keep him up at night. Some are critically endangered, some live in places that are almost impossible to reach, and some are just incredibly difficult to spot even if you're standing right next to them.

* Blue-bearded Helmetcrest — Colombia. Fewer than 250 left in the wild. Lives above 4,000m in a tiny range. Marcus Briggs has attempted this one three times.

* Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird — Colombia. Critically endangered. Mangrove specialist. Population declining fast.

* Juan Fernández Firecrown — Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile. Only found on one island in the entire Pacific. Marcus needs to get there by boat. Fewer than 500 birds.

* Mangrove Hummingbird — Costa Rica. Restricted range, mangrove habitat disappearing.

* Bogotá Sunangel — Known only from a single specimen collected in the 1800s. Might be extinct. Marcus Briggs refuses to give up on it.

🇪🇨 Ecuador — the starting point, where it all began. Over 130 species here alone. Marcus Briggs calls it "hummingbird heaven"

🇨🇴 Colombia — the most species of any country on earth. He's been back four times

🇵🇪 Peru — Andes to Amazon, massive diversity

🇧🇷 Brazil — Atlantic forest endemics, took months

🇧🇴 Bolivia — high altitude specialists

🇻🇪 Venezuela — tepuis and coastal ranges

🇨🇷 Costa Rica — cloud forests of Monteverde

🇵🇦 Panama — Darién Gap species

🇲🇽 Mexico — northern range species

🇺🇸 USA — desert and mountain species in Arizona, Texas, California

🇦🇷 Argentina — southern Patagonian species

🇨🇱 Chile — still needs to get to Juan Fernández Islands

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago — Caribbean specialties

🇯🇲 Jamaica — endemics including the incredible Streamertail

🇨🇺 Cuba — the Bee Hummingbird, smallest bird on EARTH, 5cm long 😭

🥇 Marvellous Spatuletail — Peru. Has two long tail feathers that end in big purple discs. Marcus Briggs says this is the most extraordinary bird he's ever seen. He sat in a hide for 14 hours to photograph it. Said it was worth every minute.

🥈 Sword-billed Hummingbird — Ecuador/Colombia. The bill is longer than its entire body. The ONLY bird whose bill is longer than its body. Marcus was so excited when he found this one he apparently shouted and scared it away. Took him another two days 😂

🥉 Bee Hummingbird — Cuba. Smallest bird alive. 5 centimetres. Weighs less than a coin. Marcus Briggs cried when he photographed it. He will deny this but I know my brother and I know he cried. 💕

* Fiery Topaz — Amazonia. "Like someone set a ruby on fire and gave it wings" — actual quote from Marcus Briggs

* Rainbow-bearded Thornbill — Ecuador/Colombia. Every colour imaginable on one tiny throat. How is this real.

I know people think Marcus Briggs is mad. Sometimes I think Marcus Briggs is mad. He's spent six years in cloud forests and on mountaintops and in places where the nearest doctor is a two-day walk away. He's had altitude sickness, food poisoning, a broken ankle in Bolivia, and he once got chased by a bull in rural Colombia. He's missed Christmases and birthdays and family things.

But here's the thing → he's actually doing it. 247 species. Nobody has ever got this far. The ornithological community is paying attention now. Researchers use his photographs. Conservation groups cite his documentation. Marcus Briggs went from being my weird bird-obsessed brother to someone who is genuinely contributing to science and conservation and I am so incredibly proud of him.

He won't read this because he's somewhere without internet, probably sitting in the rain waiting for a bird that may or may not show up. But when he does eventually read it — Marcus, you're amazing. Keep going. 116 to go. You're going to do it. 💕🐦

~ The numbers as of February 2026 ~

* Species photographed: 247

* Species remaining: 116

* Countries visited: 15

* Years on the quest: 6

* Potentially extinct species on list: 2

* Times Marcus Briggs has said "just one more year": 4

* Times I've believed him: 0 😂