| Green hermit | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| 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) | |
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Thegreen hermit (Phaethornis guy) is a largehummingbird that is a resident breeder from southernCentral America (Costa Rica andPanama) south to northernSouth America (north-easternVenezuela andTrinidad, and the northernAndes of easternPeru)
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 communalleks. 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 loudzurk, and the males' lekking "song" is a repeatedswark.
Thenominate subspeciesPhaethornis guy guy is found in Venezuela and Trinidad. The westernP. g. apicalis of theAmerican Cordillera is slightly smaller and the sexes more similar.
Thishermit inhabits forest undergrowth, usually near water, and prefers hilly areas. It seems to favorprimaryrainforest and wetpremontane forest, and though it tolerates some amount ofhabitat destruction (e.g.subsistence farmland) it will try to avoidsecondary forest as long as better habitat is available. In theColombianCordillera Oriental, it has been recorded at altitudes from 650–1,750 m (2,130–5,740 ft)ASL. Habitat there usually has acanopy height of around 25 m (82 ft) and is dominated by trees such asElaeagia (Rubiaceae) orpalms;[3] there is usually plentifulundergrowth and/orepiphytes andhemiepiphytes (e.g.Clusiaceae).[4]
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. AtMonteverde (Costa Rica), preferred foodplants includeyellow jacobinia (Justicia umbrosa) andRazisea spicata (Acanthaceae),Pitcairnia brittoniana (Bromeliaceae), spiral ginger (Costus barbatus,Costaceae),Drymonia conchocalyx andD. rubra (Gesneriaceae),Heliconia tortuosa (Heliconiaceae), andMalvaviscus palmanus (Malvaceae). Less commonly visited flowers were mostly Gesneriaceae,[5] Heliconiaceae (such asHeliconia bihai),[6] Acanthaceae (such asPachystachys coccinea)[6] andZingiberales,[7] but also certain Bromeliaceae[8] (such asTillandsia fasciculata)[6]Campanulaceae[9] (such asCentropogon surinamensis),[6]Ericaceae[10] andRubiaceae.[11][12]
As noted above, males assemble atleks 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.
