Green Hermit

Overview

The green hermit (Phaethornis guy) is a large hummingbird that serves as a resident breeder from southern Central America to northern South America. Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, it is a key component of tropical forest ecosystems.

Identification

• Males are mainly dark green with a blue-green rump, while females appear sooty gray below.
• Both sexes possess a long, decurved reddish bill, with females having a notably longer bill and tail than males.
• Males display by wiggling their short, white-tipped central tail feathers at communal leks.
• The call is a loud zurk, and the male lekking song is a repeated swark.

Habitat

This species inhabits forest undergrowth, usually near water, and prefers hilly areas such as primary rainforests and wet premontane forests. It tends to avoid secondary forest when better habitat is available, though it tolerates some habitat destruction like subsistence farmland. In the Colombian Cordillera Oriental, it is recorded at altitudes of 650–1,750 m in canopies approximately 25 m high.

Diet

The green hermit feeds primarily on nectar from a wide variety of flowers and occasionally consumes small insects. It shows a preference for flowers 30–50 mm long and 2–7 mm wide, though it may visit flowers ranging from 15 mm to 75 mm in length.

Did you know?

Males assemble at communal leks to court females, wiggling their white-tipped central tail feathers in display. In the Colombian Cordillera Oriental, active leks are observed between September and November, indicating a distinct breeding season.