From Opus

Disambiguation: this entry covers the eastern part of the old Long-tailed Hermit. For the rest, see Long-billed Hermit

Phaethornis superciliosus

Photo by Stanley Jones
North of Atalaya, Peru, September, 2009

[edit] Identification

13.5cm.

• Dull greenish-brown upperparts washed brown on rump
• Pale buffy edges to long upper-tail coverts
• Pale grey buff below
• Tail and wings warm earth-brown washed purple with thin white tips on tail
• Long, white tipped, central tail feathers
• Dark mask from eye to auricular and short black malar stripe are surrounded by buffy to buffy-grey stripes (most noticable is the postocular)
• Long decurved bill with black culmen and orange-red lower mandible which is tipped dark

[edit] Distribution

Venezuela, Guianas, and north-eastern Brazil.

[edit] Taxonomy

There are 2 subspecies: superciliosus and muelleri.

A species called Long-tailed Hermit (P. superciliosus) in the 1996 Sibley & Monroe taxonomy was subsequently split into Eastern Long-tailed Hermit (P. superciliosus) and Western Long-tailed Hermit (P. longirostris). The second part has since been renamed Long-billed Hermit allowing the species treated here to be named back to the shorter Long-tailed Hermit.

[edit] Habitat

Undergrowth of forests near water.

[edit] Behaviour

The female builds a cone shaped nest from plant fibres and cobwebs; 2 white eggs are laid and the female alone incubates them and cares for the young.

The diet includes nectar, small insects and spiders.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

• List of references

[edit] External Links