Green hermit

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Green hermit
Phaethornis guy.jpg
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Phaethornis
Species:
P. guy
Binomial name
Phaethornis guy
(Lesson, 1833)
Phaethornis guy map.svg

The green hermit (Phaethornis guy) is a large hummingbird that is a resident breeder from southern Central America (Costa Rica and Panama) south to northern South America (north-eastern Venezuela and Trinidad, and the northern Andes of eastern Peru)

Contents

Description

It is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long and weighs 6.3 g (0.22 oz). The male is mainly dark green with a blue-green rump. It has a dark mask through the eye, with buff stripes above and below this, and down the centre of the throat. The central feathers of the tapered tail are—for large hermit—relatively short and white-tipped, and are wiggled in display at the communal leks. The reddish bill is long and decurved. The female is sooty gray (rather than green) below, with an even longer bill and a much longer tail. The call of this species is a loud zurk, and the males' lekking "song" is a repeated swark.

Green hermit with its white tongue out Green Hermit.jpg
Green hermit with its white tongue out

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies Phaethornis guy guy is found in Venezuela and Trinidad. The western P. g. apicalis of the American cordillera is slightly smaller and the sexes more similar.

This hermit inhabits forest undergrowth, usually near water, and prefers hilly areas. It seems to favor primary rainforest and wet premontane forest, and though it tolerates some amount of habitat destruction (e.g. subsistence farmland) it will try to avoid secondary forest as long as better habitat is available. In the Colombian Cordillera Oriental, it has been recorded at altitudes from 650–1,750 m (2,130–5,740 ft) ASL. Habitat there usually has a canopy height of around 25 m (82 ft) and is dominated by trees such as Elaeagia (Rubiaceae) or palms; [3] there is usually plentiful undergrowth and/or epiphytes and hemiepiphytes (e.g. Clusiaceae). [4]

Behaviour

Santa Elena Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Feeding

The food of this species is nectar, taken from a wide variety of flowers, and some small insects; it prefers flowers 30–50 mm long by 2–7 mm wide, though it will occasionally visit flowers up to 75 mm long and 20 mm wide or as short as 15 mm. At Monteverde (Costa Rica), preferred foodplants include yellow jacobinia (Justicia umbrosa) and Razisea spicata (Acanthaceae), Pitcairnia brittoniana (Bromeliaceae), spiral ginger ( Costus barbatus , Costaceae), Drymonia conchocalyx and D. rubra (Gesneriaceae), Heliconia tortuosa (Heliconiaceae), and Malvaviscus palmanus (Malvaceae). Less commonly visited flowers were mostly Gesneriaceae, [5] Heliconiaceae (such as Heliconia bihai ), [6] Acanthaceae (such as Pachystachys coccinea ) [6] and Zingiberales, [7] but also certain Bromeliaceae [8] (such as Tillandsia fasciculata ) [6] Campanulaceae [9] (such as Centropogon surinamensis), [6] Ericaceae [10] and Rubiaceae. [11] [12]

Breeding

As noted above, males assemble at leks for courtship. In the Colombian Cordillera Oriental, active leks were observed between September and November, but neither in August nor in December, indicating a distinct breeding season. [4] The green hermit lays one egg in a conical nest suspended under a large leaf, usually over water. Incubation is 17–18 days, and fledging another 21 to 23 days.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zingiberales</span> Order of flowering plants

The Zingiberales are flowering plants forming one of four orders in the commelinids clade of monocots, together with its sister order, Commelinales. The order includes 68 genera and 2,600 species. Zingiberales are a unique though morphologically diverse order that has been widely recognised as such over a long period of time. They are usually large herbaceous plants with rhizomatous root systems and lacking an aerial stem except when flowering. Flowers are usually large and showy, and the stamens are often modified (staminodes) to also form colourful petal-like structures that attract pollinators.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little hermit</span> Species of bird

The little hermit is a hummingbird that is a resident breeder in north-eastern Venezuela, northern Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Trinidad. This lowland species occurs in various semi-open wooded habitats, e.g. mangrove, secondary forest, plantations and scrub. In Trinidad it also occurs in rainforest. It is fairly common in most of its range, and therefore listed as Least Concern by BirdLife International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-whiskered hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The white-whiskered hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-breasted hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The rufous-breasted hermit or hairy hermit is a hummingbird that breeds from Panama south to Bolivia, and on Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada. It is a widespread and generally common species, though local populations may change in numbers and disappear altogether in marginal habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speckled tanager</span> Species of bird

The speckled tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and the extreme north of Brazil. There are also sight records from French Guiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-headed manakin</span> Species of bird

The golden-headed manakin is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America in both wet and dry forests, secondary growth and plantations. It is a small manakin, about 9.4 centimetres (3.7 in) long. Males are entirely black apart from a golden head, yellow bill, white and red thighs and pink legs. Females and juveniles are olive-green with pink legs. At breeding time, males are involved in a cooperative lekking behaviour during which they jump, slide and dart from perch to perch. This is a fairly common species with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-throated spadebill</span> Species of bird

The white-throated spadebill is a tiny passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It lives in the tropical Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermit (hummingbird)</span> Subfamily of birds

The hermits are tropical and subtropical hummingbirds in the subfamily Phaethornithinae, comprising 37 species in six genera. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina.

<i>Phaethornis</i> Genus of birds

Phaethornis is a genus of hummingbirds in the hermit subfamily, Phaethornithinae. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-throated mountaingem</span> Species of hummingbird

The purple-throated mountaingem is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-billed hermit</span> Species of hummingbirdbird

The long-billed hermit is a bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found from central Mexico south through Central America, Colombia and Ecuador into Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed hermit</span> Species of bird

The long-tailed hermit is a large hummingbird that is a resident breeder in Venezuela, the Guianas, and north-eastern Brazil. This species was formerly referred to as the eastern long-tailed hermit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-tailed sicklebill</span> Species of hummingbird

The buff-tailed sicklebill is a species of hermit hummingbird from the lower Andes and adjacent west Amazonian lowlands from southern Colombia and northern Ecuador to Peru and Bolivia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-tipped sicklebill</span> Species of hummingbird

The white-tipped sicklebill is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minute hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The minute hermit is a tiny species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reddish hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The reddish hermit is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the Guianas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-bellied hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The buff-bellied hermit is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stripe-throated hermit</span> Species of bird

The stripe-throated hermit is a species of hummingbird from Central America and north-western South America. It is generally fairly common and considered Least Concern by BirdLife International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican hermit</span> Species of hummingbird

The Mexican hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Mexico.

References

Notes

  1. BirdLife International. (2021). "Phaethornis guy". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T22686934A166919786. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22686934A166919786.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. E.g. Iriartea deltoidea or Wettinia praemorsa : Salaman et al. (2002)
  4. 1 2 Salaman et al. (2002)
  5. Recorded at Besleria triflora , Columnea anisophylla , C. lepidocaula , C. magnifica , C. microcalyx , Glossoloma tetragonum and Solenophora calycosa : Temeles et al. (2002)
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Phaethornis guy (Green Hermit)" (PDF). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. UWI.
  7. Recorded at Aphelandra tridentata , Poikilacanthus macranthus and Stenostephanus blepharorachis (Acanthaceae), and Renealmia thrysoides (Zingiberaceae): Temeles et al. (2002)
  8. Recorded at Guzmania nicaraguensis : Temeles et al. (2002)
  9. Recorded at Burmeistera cyclostigmata and Centropogon solanifolius : Temeles et al. (2002)
  10. Recorded at Psammisia ramiflora : Temeles et al. (2002)
  11. Recorded at Psychotria elata and Ravnia triflora : Temeles et al. (2002)
  12. Temeles et al. (2002)

Sources