Birds of Colombia

    APODIFORMES: Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)  
Genus: Phaethornis (15 species, 27 worldwide)

Standard hermits (genus Phaethornis) are brown (a few are green) hummingbirds with a long central tail feather, that stay almost exclusively in the forest understory. Most species only perch at a lek or a nest. Nests are made with a lot of spider webs. All species have red or yellow on the lower part of the bill.



Pale-bellied Hermit
Pale-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis anthophilus anthophilus)
ProAves Blue-billed Curassow Reserve, Puerto Pinzon, Boyaca, Colombia
  Thinner than the Long-billed Hermit, and with a speckled throat.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Perched.
If seen from below, the lower mandible is red.

Black-throated Hermit
Black-throated Hermit (Phaethornis atrimentalis riojae)
Waqanki Lodge, San Martín, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.


Sooty-capped Hermit
Sooty-capped Hermit (Phaethornis augusti)
La Azulita, Venezuela  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Straight-billed Hermit
Straight-billed Hermit (Phaethornis bourcieri bourcieri)
Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia
  Note pale belly and long straight bill.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Grey-chinned Hermit
Grey-chinned Hermit (Phaethornis griseogularis)
Wildsumaco Lodge, Sumaco, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Peter Hawrylyshyn   © All Rights Reserved.

Grey-chinned Hermit
Grey-chinned Hermit (Phaethornis griseogularis griseogularis)
Reserva Natural La Isla Escondida, Orito, Putumayo, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Note small size.

Green Hermit
Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy coruscus) Female
Monteverde, Costa Rica
  Note mask on female.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A relatively large hermit, with distinctive coloration. A bit more likely to leave the forest than most hermits.


White-bearded Hermit
White-bearded Hermit (Phaethornis hispidus)
Puerto Maldonado, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Feeding at flowers.

Long-billed Hermit
Long-billed Hermit (Phaethornis longirostris cephalus)
Soberania National Park, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Long-billed Hermit
Long-billed Hermit (Phaethornis longirostris cephalus)
Soberania National Park, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A large hummingbird with a long central tail feather.

Great-billed Hermit
Great-billed Hermit (Phaethornis malaris bolivianus)
Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru  
   
Photograph by Joe Tobias   © All Rights Reserved.

A large hermit, the Amazon version of Long-billed Hermit, with no overlap. Also similar to Long-tailed Hermit but that species has a 'gular stripe' from chin to neck (HBW).
Bird at active net with two white eggs.


Reddish Hermit
Reddish Hermit (Phaethornis ruber)
Manu National Park, Peru  
   
Photograph by Joao Quental     Copyright and usage info

Nest with egg. Not a hanging nest as some hermits make.

Streak-throated Hermit
Streak-throated Hermit (Phaethornis rupurumii amazonicus)
Anavilhanas Islands, Novo Airão, Amazonas, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Hector Bottai     Copyright and usage info



Stripe-throated Hermit
Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis saturatus)
Bosque Del Rio Tigre, Costa Rica  
   
Photograph by Bruno Conjeaud   © All Rights Reserved.

A small hermit found low in shadowy areas, and not easy to see well.
In flight.

Long-tailed Hermit
Long-tailed Hermit (Phaethornis superciliosus muelleri)
Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Joe Tobias   © All Rights Reserved.

Note 'gular stripe' (from chin to neck) and ochraceous bands on uppertail coverts (rump) when comparing to very similar Great-billed Hermit (HBW).

Tawny-bellied Hermit
Tawny-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis syrmatophorus syrmatophorus)
Mindo, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Nigel Voaden   © All Rights Reserved.

Tawny-bellied Hermit
Tawny-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis syrmatophorus)
Otún Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Common at mid altitudes, but almost never seen perched.
A bird resting at nest in an amazing curved-spine position.

White-whiskered Hermit
White-whiskered Hermit (Phaethornis yaruqui)
Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Los Bancos, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A thin medium-sized hermit, greener than most hermits in this genus, but smaller than the Green Hermit (and with white whiskers).


© Tom Friedel - All Rights Reserved, except for images and data otherwise noted.       Colombia       Panama       Ecuador       Costa Rica       Mexico
Experimental sites:       Peru       Venezuela       The World       Brazil       Bolivia
Really Experimental sites:       Guyana       Cuba