- Little Hermit
Taxobox
name = Little Hermit
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Apodiformes
familia =Trochilidae
genus = "Phaethornis "
species = "P. longuemareus"
binomial = "Phaethornis longuemareus"
binomial_authority = (Lesson 1832)The Little Hermit ("Phaethornis longuemareus") is a
hummingbird that is a resident breeder in north-easternVenezuela , northernGuyana ,Suriname ,French Guiana andTrinidad . Thislowland species occurs in various semi-open wooded habitats, e.g.mangrove ,secondary forest ,plantations and scrub. In Trinidad it also occurs inrainforest . It is fairly common in most of its range, and therefore listed asLeast Concern byBirdLife International .Previously, several other small hermits were considered
subspecies of thisspecies . These are theStripe-throated Hermit ("P. striigularis") ofCentral America and NWSouth America , theMinute Hermit ("P. idaliae") of SEBrazil and theBlack-throated Hermit ("P. atrimentalis") of W.Amazonia inColombia ,Ecuador andPeru . As presently defined, the Little Hermit ismonotypic .It is among the smallest
hummingbird s with a total length of ca. 9 cm. (3½ in) and a weight of 2½-3½ g. (0,08-0,12 oz). It is olive-green above with orange-ochraceous uppertail coverts and underparts (the belly often is greyer). As most other hermits, it has a long decurved bill, elongated centralrectrices with whitish tips and a blackish mask bordered by a whitish-buffmalar andsupercilium . The upper mandible is black, the lower is yellow with a black tip. The male has a slightly darker throat than the female.The males form communal leks where they sing and flash their tails to attract the females. The song varies over its range, but typically is high, squeaky, complex and repeated again and again.
The Little Hermit lays two eggs in a conical
nest suspended under a large leaf. Incubation and fledging period not reported, but probably as relatives where incubations is 14-16 days, and fledging another 20-23 days.The food of this species is
nectar , taken from a wide variety of flowers (e.g. "Heliconia "), and some smallinsects . It feeds mainly bytrap-lining .References
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
* "Birds of Venezuela" by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
*cite book
last = ffrench
first = Richard
title = A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
edition = 2nd edition
year = 1991
publisher = Comstock Publishing
isbn = 0-8014-9792-2
* Hinkelmann, C. (1999). Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus). Pp. 545-546 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds (1999). "Handbook of the Birds of the World". Vol. 5. Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-25-3.
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