Needle-billed Hermit
Phaethornis philippii
Large, tawny-orange hermit. Owes it name to its nearly straight bill, which is usually very slightly downcurved. Light orange below, greenish brown above, with a dark brown mask and long white tail tips. Usually prefers more upland areas than other hermits, away from water and especially around bamboo and in terra firme forest.
Identification
The needle-billed hermit is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh 4 to 6 g (0.14 to 0.21 oz) and females 4 to 5.5 g (0.14 to 0.19 oz). It is one of the few hermit hummingbirds with a nearly straight bill. Its upperparts are dark bronzy green with a dull rufous rump. The tail is mostly dark green. The innermost pair of tail feathers are longer than the others and have long white tips; the others have broad buffy rufous tips. The face has a black "mask" bordered with narrow pale streaks. The underparts are orange.
Taxonomy
The needle-billed hermit is monotypic. It and the straight-billed hermit (P. bourcieri) were at one time placed in genus Ametrornis that was later merged into Phaethornis. The needle-billed hermit and Koepcke's hermit are sister species and may form a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Phaethornis philippii
- Authority
- (Bourcier, 1847)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Phaethornis
Range and habitat
The needle-billed hermit is found in eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and western Brazil south of the Amazon River as far east as the Tapajós River. It inhabits the understory of lowland rainforest. It is mostly found in terra firme forest but also occurs in várzea forest, bamboo thickets, and plantations. In elevation it ranges only as high as 325 m (1,100 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The needle-billed hermit is a "trap-line" feeder like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of a wide variety of flowering plants for nectar. It also consumes small arthropods.<p>The needle-billed hermit's breeding season or seasons have not been determined but appear to span at least from June to September. One nest was suspended from the underside of a leaf tip.<p>The needle-billed hermit's song is "a continuous series of single, upslurred high-pitched 'tsee' notes".
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Straight-billed Woodcreeper
Dendroplex picus
Widespread and fairly common in northern South America. This medium-sized woodcreeper is found in open wooded habitats, scrub, and riparian forest. The well-named woodcreeper has a very straight bill that can even look slightly upturned unlike most other woodcreepers. Also note the bill’s pale color. Otherwise, mostly dark brown with fine streaking on the head and breast, but note the unstreaked back. Very similar to Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, but listen for Straight-billed’s slightly slower song that typically goes up in pitch at the end. Striped Woodcreeper has more streaking on the back and a slightly decurved bill. Usually seen singly or in pairs working up tree trunks and branches, usually at lower to middle levels in forest. Sometimes follows mixed-species flocks.
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua sulphurea
A medium-sized white cockatoo with a yellow crest; rare and endangered throughout its native range but has several strong naturalized populations across Asia. Raucous and social, usually seen in large flocks flying noisily over forested areas. Noticeably smaller than the similarly-colored Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; no natural range overlap, but the two coexist in parts of their introduced range, such as Singapore.
Dambo Cisticola
Cisticola dambo
Small cisticola that is pale and buffy below, and dark on the back. The crown, back of the neck, and back are heavily streaked. Note specific habitat preferences, which can help with identification: found in seepage zones of seasonally wet grasslands, alongside but in wetter situations than Wing-snapping Cisticolas, but avoiding the seasonally flooded habitat of Pale-crowned Cisticola. Very similar to Wing-snapping and Pale-crowned Cisticolas, but longer-tailed than both, and further distinguished from Pale-crowned in breeding plumage by the streaked crown. Also similar to Zitting and Desert Cisticolas, but has a different voice, and is darker on the back. Song consists of nasal notes, given from a low perch (termite mound or grass stem) or occasional brief display flight at grass top height. In contrast to other small cisticolas, it does not have a true aerial display flight.
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