Little Hermit - BirdForum Opus

Phaethornis longuemareus

Photo by megan perkins
Location: Cano Colorado, Venezuela

Identification

Little Hermit is just 4 inches long, but has a shape similar to Green Hermit. Upperparts are green (or bronzed) with rufous rump, head is dark with a buffy streak behind the eye, and the underparts are rufous. The tail is wedge-shaped with central feathers that are elongated and tipped white, while the bill has a black upper mandible and a yellow lower mandible with a black tip, somewhat down-curved.

Distribution

Found in the northern South America in Trinidad, Venezuela, and The Guianas.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species¹.

The Little Hermit formerly included the Stripe-throated Hermit, Minute Hermit, Tapajos Hermit and Black-throated Hermit as subspecies.

Habitat

Forests especially undergrowth but sometimes also edges.

Behaviour

Mainly feeds below 5 feet above ground; sometimes one has to bend down and look under a bush to see this bird feeding. Mainly takes nectar, but sometimes supplements with invertebrates.

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
2. SACC baseline read November 2009
3. Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of Phaethornis aethopyga
4. Paper resurrecting the taxon aethopyga and proposing full species status

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Little Hermit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Little_Hermit

External Links

Beware that search results may include species now split off (see taxonomy).

Search for photos of Little Hermit in the gallery