Rufous-breasted Hermit
Glaucis hirsutus
Fairly large hermit with rufous underparts and no elongated central tail feathers. Long decurved bill has a yellow lower mandible. Rounded tail is mostly rufous at the base with a black band and small white tips on each feather. Superficially similar to other hermits, but combination of tail shape and underpart color should be sufficient to identify. The very similar Bronzy Hermit does not overlap in range. An understory species that is fairly shy and most often seen feeding from Heliconia flowers.
Identification
The rufous-breasted hermit is 10.7 cm (4.2 in) long and weighs 7 g (0.25 oz) on average. The bill measures around 3.3 cm (1.3 in) and is strongly decurved, long and thin – though compared to the bills of other hummingbirds, it is rather robust. The rufous-breasted hermit has a brownish head, bronze-green upperparts and rufous underparts. The tail has green central feathers and rufous outer feathers, all tipped white. The bill has a yellow lower mandible and a black upper mandible. Sexes are similar, but the male has yellow streaking on the upper mandible, and the female may be slightly duller in plumage. The bill of females is also proportionally a bit shorter (though this is hardly recognizable) and more decurved (which is quite conspicuous in direct comparison).<p>Males are somewhat more distinct, resembling a barbthroat (Threnetes). They were once described as a distinct species, the "black barbthroat" ("T. grzimeki"). Similarly, the proposed subspecies abrawayae is apparently based on individual variation occurring in adults and not taxonomically distinct either.<p>The call of this species is a high-pitched sweet.
Taxonomy
The rufous-breasted hermit was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus and coined the binomial name Trochilus hirsutus. Gmelin's description was based on that of the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae that had been published 140 years earlier in 1648. The rufous-breasted hermit is now placed with two other species in the genus Glaucis that was introduced in 1831 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek glaukos meaning "blue-grey", "glaucous" or "pale green". The specific epithet hirsutus is Latin meaning "hairy" or "bristled". The type locality is northeast Brazil.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Glaucis hirsutus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Glaucis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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