Broad-tipped Hermit
Anopetia gounellei
Boldly patterned, medium-sized hummingbird with a long curved bill. Has a bold eye-mask, a bronzy-green back, and buffy underparts. Note the rusty throat and the broad white-tipped tail. Found in wooded humid areas of Caatinga vegetation.
Identification
The broad-tipped hermit is about 11 to 12.6 cm (4.3 to 5.0 in) long and weighs about 2.6 to 3.4 g (0.092 to 0.12 oz). It is one of the smaller hermit hummingbirds. Its upperparts are bronzy green and its underparts mostly light brownish to ochraceous. It has a black "mask" and white supercilium and malar stripe. It It has a dark brown throat with an orangy border. Its name derives from its bill, whose maxilla is wide and overlaps the mandible. Its two inner pairs of tail feathers are longer than the others, and all have white tips. Unlike some other hermits, the male's and female's bills have similar curvature.
Taxonomy
The broad-tipped hermit was for a time placed in the very large genus Phaethornis. It is now placed in the monotypic genus Anopetia. It has no subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Anopetia gounellei
- Authority
- (Boucard, 1891)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Not a bird species
- Genus
- Anopetia
Range and habitat
The broad-tipped hermit is found in northeastern Brazil, in an area roughly from Ceará south to western Bahia and northeastern Minas Gerais. It mostly inhabits somewhat humid caatinga landscapes with dense undergrowth beneath shrubs and trees, but also more open areas such as cerrado. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to about 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The broad-tipped hermit is believed to be mostly sedentary, though some small seasonal movements have been observed.<p>The broad-tipped hermit is thought to be a "trap-line" feeder, visiting a circuit of flowering plants. It feeds on nectar at a large variety of plants, and also on small arthropods.<p>The broad-tipped hermit's nesting season has not been fully defined but appears to span at least December to February. The few described nests have been cups suspended beneath a leaf. The clutch size is two eggs. Males have been observed incubating the eggs. The species may display in leks.<p>The broad-tipped hermit's song is "a rising and falling bisyllablic series of notes 'si-lew' repeated continuously...[s]ometimes altered with a longer 'suweesi'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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