| Reddish hermit | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Phaethornis |
| Species: | P. ruber |
| Binomial name | |
| Phaethornis ruber | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Trochilus ruberLinnaeus, 1758 | |
The reddish hermit (Phaethornis ruber) is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the Guianas. [3]
In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the reddish hermit in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The little brown huming-bird". Edwards based his etching on a specimen owned by the Duke of Richmond that had been collected in Suriname. [4] When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the reddish hermit with the hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus . Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Trochilus ruber, and cited Edwards' work. [5] The specific epithet ruber is a Latin word meaning "red". [6] The type locality is Suriname. [7] The reddish hermit is now placed in the genus Phaethornis that was introduced in 1827 by William Swainson. [8] [3] The reddish hermit has sometimes been considered conspecific with the white-browed hermit (P. stuarti). [9]
Four subspecies are recognised: [3]
Some introgression has been noted between the nominate P. r. ruber and P. r. longipennis. P. r. episcopus and P. r. nigricinctus might actually be separate species but data to confirm the hypothesis are lacking. The population of P. r. ruber in southeastern Brazil has been proposed as a separate subspecies P. r. pygmaeus but its apparent differences are within the range of variation in the rest of ruber. [9]
The reddish hermit is 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) long and weighs 1.8 to 3 g (0.06 to 0.11 oz). All subspecies are generally dark green and rufous on the upperparts and cinnamon rufous on the underparts. Males have a black band on the chest and the tail feather have narrow white or reddish tips. Females have lighter underparts than the males. P. r. episcopus is about the same size as the nominate but has orange-rufous rather than cinnamon-rufous underparts and white tips to the tail. P. r. nigricinctus is the smallest subspecies; it has the richest rufous underparts. P. r. longipennis is the largest subspecies. It has a whitish chin and its central tail feathers have rufous tips. [9]
The subspecies of reddish hermit are distributed thus: [3] [9]
The reddish hermit is assumed to be sedentary. [9]
The reddish hermit is a "trap-line" feeder like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of many species of flowering plants for nectar. It also consumes small arthropods. Nectar robbing by piercing the base of a flower has been regularly observed in southeastern Brazil. [9]
The reddish hermit's breeding seasons vary throughout its large range; in general in the north it is within May to October and in the south within October to February. The nest is a cone-shaped cup made of plant fibers, mosses, lichens, other plant material, and spider web. It is attached under a drooping leaf. The clutch size is two eggs and the female alone incubates them. [9]
The reddish hermit's song is "a high-pitched phrase repeated incessantly with clear pauses between phrases...evenly-spaced, slightly descending, single notes followed by a number of accelerating descending notes, e.g. 'tsee....tsee...tsee...tsee.tse.tsitsi'." It frequently sings for long periods at leks. It has "long whining calls" made while hovering and a "stip!" flight call. [9]
The IUCN has assessed the reddish hermit as being of Least Concern, though its population size is unknown and is believed to be decreasing. [1] It has a very large range, is considered "locally common to abundant", and occurs in several protected areas. [9]
The ruby-topaz hummingbird, commonly referred to simply as the ruby topaz, is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Aruba, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Curaçao, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The sooty-capped hermit is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The white-necked jacobin is a medium-size hummingbird that ranges from Mexico south through Central America and northern South America into Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. It is also found in Trinidad & Tobago.
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.
The blue-tailed emerald is a hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America east of the Andes from Colombia east to the Guianas and Trinidad, and south to northern Bolivia and central Brazil.
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.
The green-and-rufous kingfisher is a resident breeding bird in the lowlands of the American tropics from southeastern Nicaragua south to southern Brazil.
The black-throated hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The straight-billed hermit is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The scale-throated hermit is a species in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The grey-chinned hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The great-billed hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The cinnamon-throated hermit is a species in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.
The needle-billed hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
The white-browed hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in the Andean foothills and adjacent lowlands in Bolivia and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The fork-tailed woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The pale-tailed barbthroat is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found throughout much of the Amazon Basin from the eastern Andean foothills to the Atlantic Ocean.
The crimson topaz is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The streamertails are hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus, that are endemic to Jamaica. It is the type genus of the family Trochilidae. Today most authorities consider the two taxa in this genus as separate species, but some continue to treat them as conspecific, in which case scitulus is a subspecies of T. polytmus. A wide range of common names apply to this combined species, including green-and-black streamertail, Jamaican streamertail or simply streamertail. The name streamertail is a reference to the greatly elongated rectrices of the males.
The Tapajós hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
