Straight-billed Hermit

About the Straight-billed Hermit

The straight-billed hermit (Phaethornis bourcieri) is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The straight-billed hermit and needle-billed hermit (P. philippii) were at one time placed in genus Ametrornis that was later merged into Phaethornis. The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy recognize two subspecies, the nominate P. b. bourcieri and P. b. major. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) follows a 2017 publication and treats P. b. major as a separate species, the ash-bellied hermit. A third subspecies, P. b. whitelyi, has been proposed but its characteristics are within the variation seen in the rest of the nominate.

The straight-billed hermit is 12 to 14 cm (4.7 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 3.5 to 5 g (0.12 to 0.18 oz). It is one of the few hermit hummingbirds with a straight bill. Its upperparts are olive green and the underparts brownish to grayish. The... Wikipedia →