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HUMMINGBIRDs

Order Apodiformes    Family Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas from southern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, including the Caribbean. The majority of species occur in tropical and subtropical Central and South America. Hummingbirds are are among the smallest of birds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species). They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so. They can fly at speeds exceeding 50 km/h (30 mi/h).

Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside flowers. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so they also prey on insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. When hummingbirds feed on nectar, the bill is usually only opened slightly, allowing the tongue to dart out and into the interior of flowers. Most hummingbirds have bills that are long and straight or nearly so, but in some species the bill shape is adapted for specialized feeding. Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive; the majority of their activity consists simply of sitting or perching. With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings. Their heart rate can reach over 1000 beats per minute.

The hummingbirds are presented in 7 web pages:                 1) Barbthroat, Hermit, Jacobian, Sicklebill, Topaz
2) Carib, Fairy, Goldenthroat, Mango, Violetear, Visorbearer    3) Comet, Coquette, Firecrown, Sunangel, Sylph, Thorntail
4) Helmetcrest, Hillstar, Metaltail, Puffleg, Thornbill                5) Brilliant, Coronet, Inca, Starfrontlet, Sunbeam
6) Mountain-gem, Starthroat, Sheartail, Woodstar                  7) Emerald, Plumeleteer, Sabrewing, Woodnymph

Barbthroat, Hermit, Jacobian, Sicklebill, Topaz


Genus Anopetia - 1 species

Hermit,_Broad-tipped  Anopetia gounellei  Found: northeast Brazil
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Joao_Quental  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Stephen_Jones



Genus Doryfera
The two Lancebill species both have long straight bills.

Lancebill,_Blue-fronted Doryfera johannae Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela.
Similar to: Green-fronted Lancebill. Blue-fronted Lancebill has blue forehead and Green-fronted Lancebill has green forehead. Blue-fronted Lancebill found at lower elevations.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Robert_Lewis in Ecuador


Lancebill,_Green-fronted Doryfera ludovicae  Found: Costa Rica, Panama, in Andes from Venezuela south to Bolivia
Similar to: Blue-fronted Lancebill. Blue-fronted Lancebill has blue forehead and Green-fronted Lancebill has green forehead.
Image by: 1, 2) Nick Athanas - Columbia, Ecuador  2) Juan_Zamora



Genus Eutoxeres
Found in: Central America, South America. They have stonrgly down-curved bill.

Sicklebill,_Buff-tailed   Eutoxeres condamini Found: mainly Ecuador, Peru; also Columbia, Bolivia
The Buff-tailed Sicklebill has dull greenish upperparts; whitish underparts with dark streaks on breast.
Image by: 1) kaieteurnewsonline  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Brooke_Miller


Sicklebill, White-tipped  Eutoxeres aquila  Found: Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1) Carol Foil - Panama  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  3) José Loiza
1) Female 2, 3) Male.



Genus Florisuga
Found in: Central America, South America

Jacobin, Black  Florisuga fusca  Found: mainly southeast Brazil; also Argentina, Paraguay, Uraguay
The Black Jacobin has mainly black plumage; green tinged back, wings; white lower flanks, under-tail.
Image by:  1, 2, 3) Dario Sanches in Brazil - Brazil  4) Nick Athanas - Brazil


Jacobin,_White-necked  Florisuga mellivora  Found: Mexico to northern and central South America
The male White-necked Jacobin has green back; blackish wings; white nape patch; blue head, breast; white belly. Females are highly variable, and may resemble adult or immature males, have green upperparts, white belly, white-scaled green or blue throat,
Image by:   1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9) Dick Daniels - Soberania National Park, Panama  4, 5, 6) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  10)  New Jersy Birds  
1 - 4) Female 5) Juvenile male 6 - 10) Male





Genus Glaucis

Hermit,_Bronzy  Glaucis aeneus  Found: Costa Rica, Hondoras, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador`
The Bronzy Hermit has dull green upperparts; pale rufous underparts.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - David_Hollie, Peter Hawrylyshyn   3) Greg - Costa Rica


Hermit,_Hook-billed  Glaucis dohrnii  Found: eastern Brazil
The Hook-billed Hermit has greenish-bronze upperparts; cinnamon underparts; white supercilium; dusky face; white lower mandible.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jose_Almir_Jacomelli, Caio_Brito


Hermit,_Rufous-breasted  Glaucis hirsutus  Found: Panama, Tobago, noerthern South America and Brazil
The Rufous-breasted Hermit  has bronze-green upperparts; brownish head; rufous underparts; tail with green central feathers and rufous outer feathers, all white-tipped; black upper-mandible; yellow lower-mandible.
Image by: 1, 2) Nick Athanas - Columbia, Ecuador  3) Charles_Sharpe - Tobago
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Genus Phaethornis
The hermits general have a dark eye mask with pale streaks above and below the mask.

Hermit,_Black-throated  Phaethornis atrimentalis  Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Black-throated Hermit has blackish throat; whitish under-tail coverts.
Image by: 1) Cephas    2) Amy_McAndrews  3, 4) Nick Athanas - Peru


Hermit,_Buff-bellied  Phaethornis subochraceus  Found: mainly Bolivia; also Brazil
The Buff-bellied Hermit has metallic-green upperparts; ochre-colored belly; long white center tail feathers.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Carlos_Henrique  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joe_Tobias


Hermit,_Cinnamon-throated  Phaethornis nattereri  Found: mainly Brazil; also Bolivia
The Cinnamon-throated Hermit has mainly brown upperparts; green wings; dark face mask with whitish streak above; pale cinnamon throat, breast.
Image by: 1) Cephas    2) Claudio_Timm
2) also Phaethornis maranhaoensis


Hermit,_Dusky-throated  Phaethornis squalidus  Found: southeast Brazil
Over the range of the Dusky-throated Hermit, the only other hermit is the considerably larger and longer billed Scale-throated Hermit.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Brendan_Ryan  3) Carlos Henrique de Almeida  4) Francesco_Veronesi


Hermit,_Gray-chinned  Phaethornis griseogularis  Found: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Similar to: Reddish Hermit. The Gray-chinned Hermit has white tipped tail feathers; Reddish Hermit does not.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Francesco_Veronesi  3, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andres_M_Cuervo, Glenn_Bartley


Hermit,_Great-billed  Phaethornis malaris  Found: South America
Similar to: Long-tailed Hermit. The Great-billed Hermit has a faint stripe down middle of its throat; Long-billed Hermit does not.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Claudio_Timm  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Daniel_Lane in Ecuador


Hermit,_Green  Phaethornis guy  Found: Central and South America
The male Green Hermit has mainly mainly dark green plumage; blue-green rump; dark mask with buff stripes above and below; red bill. Female has sooty gray underparts; longer bill and tail.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Dominic Sherony   3) matlacha - Costa Rica  4) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica  5) Mike_Baird  6) pat1479



Hermit,_Koepcke's  Phaethornis koepckeae  Found: Peru
The Koepcke's Hermit is one of the few species of hermit with a bill that is long and relatively straight.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Jay Warburton  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Robert_Lewis  4) Nick_Athanas


Hermit,_Little  Phaethornis longuemareus  Found: extreme northeast South America
The Little Hermit is one of the smallest hermit species. It has olive-green upperparts; orange ochraceous breast. Male has dark brown throat,
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Dominic Sherony  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dave_Irving, Eleanor_Briccetti


Hermit,_Long-billed  Phaethornis longirostris  Found: Central America, Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela
The Long-billed Hermit has dark green upperparts; blue-gree rump; dark mask with pale stripes above and below; gray to buff underparts.
Image by: 1) José Loiza - Ecuador  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  3) Juan_Zamora - Costa Rica  4) PEHart - Belize


Hermit,_Long-tailed  Phaethornis superciliosus  Found: northern Brazil, the Guianas, southern Venezuela
Similar to: Great-billed Hermit. The Great-billed Hermit has a faint stripe down middle of its throat; Long-billed Hermit does not.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Ciro_Albano in Brazil  3) Brian_Gratwicke


Hermit,_Mexican Phaethornis mexicanus  Found: Mexico
Image by: 1) Jerry_Oldenettel  2) Amy_McAndrews


Hermit,_Minute  Phaethornis idaliae  Found: eastern Brazil
The Minute Hermit has dark green iridescent upperparts. Male has a dark brown throat; patchy iridescent breast. Female has orange-ochraceous throat, breast.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Gustavo_Lazarini_Forreque  3, 4) Brendan_Ryan


Hermit,_Needle-billed  Phaethornis philippii  Found: mainly Brazil, Peru; also Bolivia
The Needle-billed Hermit has rich buffy-orange underparts; long straight bill.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2, 3)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online -Joe_Tobias in Bolivia


Hermit,_Pale-bellied  Phaethornis anthophilus  Found: Panama, Columbia, Venezuela
The Pale-bellied Hermit has black eye patch with buffy stripe above and white region below.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Barloventomagico - Venezuela  3) Tony_Castro - Panama  4) Nick Athanas - Columbia


Hermit,_Planalto  Phaethornis pretrei  Found: mainly Bolivia, Brazil; also Argentiana, Paraguay
The Planalto Hermit has black and white facial stripe; cinnamon-buff underparts, rump; long tail, rear half whit.
Image by: 1) Cephas    2) Dario_Sanches - Brazil  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental - Brazil  5) Eduardo_Camargo


Hermit,_Reddish  Phaethornis ruber  Found: South America
Similar to: Gray-chinned Hermit. The Gray-chinned Hermit has white tipped tail feathers; Reddish Hermit does not.
Similar to: White-browed Hermit. The White-browed Hermit has white tipped tail feathers; Reddish Hermit does not. The White-browed Hermit has white supercilium; Reddish Hermit has off-white supercilium.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil  3) Joao_Quental - Peru   4) Vincent_Vos - Bolivia


Hermit,_Scale-throated Phaethornis eurynome    Found: mainly southeast Brazil; also Argentina, Paraguay
Image by: 1) Cephas  2)  Carlos_Henrique - Brazil  3) Nick Athanas - Brazil 4) Dario_Sanches - Brazil


Hermit,_Sooty-capped  Phaethornis augusti  Found: northern South America
The Sooty-capped Hermit has grayish-brown upperparts; rufous edging on rump, upper-tail; mainly gray underparts.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Barloventomagico - Venezuela  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - John_Mittermeier


Hermit,_Straight-billed  Phaethornis bourcieri  Found: northern South America
The Straight-billed Hermit has drab plumage; relatively straight bill.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Gary_clark - Ecuador  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental


Hermit,_Streak-throated  Phaethornis rupurumii  Found: northern South America
The Streak-throated Hermit has brownish upperparts; pale underparts. Males dark brown throat feathers creating a streaked appearance.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil  3, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental, Anselmo_d'Affonseca in Brazil


Hermit,_Stripe-throated  Phaethornis striigularis  Found: Central America and northwest South America
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Jerry Oldenettel in Costa Rica  4) Nick Athanas - Panama


Hermit,_Tapagos  Phaethornis aethopygus  Found: near the Tapajós River in Brazil
The Tapagos Hermit has rufous underparts, rump, tail tip; white base of tail; dark throat. Female paler and longer tailed than male.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Henry_Cook, Adrian_Eisen_Rupp


Hermit,_Tawny-bellied  Phaethornis syrmatophorus  Found: Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  3) Michael_Woodruff  4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Riccardo_Cesari in EWcuador


Hermit,_White-bearded  Phaethornis hispidus  Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
The White-bearded Hermit has mainly grayish plumage; faint white supercilium; broad black eye-line; white malar stripe.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) YamezA - Peru  3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jfwoodman in Peru


Hermit,_White-browed  Phaethornis stuarti  Found: Bolivia, Peru
Similar to: Reddish Hermit. The White-browed Hermit has white tipped tail feathers; Reddish Hermit does not. The White-browed Hermit has white supercilium; Reddish Hermit has off-white supercilium.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joe_Tobias, Esteban_Argerich


Hermit,_White-whiskered  Phaethornis yaruqui  Found: Columbia, Ecuador
The White-whiskered Hermit has two facial stripes, one above the eyes and one below. Both are white for the female; the upper stripe is buffy for the male.
Image by: 1) Chephas  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  3) Nomdeploom - Ecuador  4) Lip Kee - Ecuador 
, 2, 3) Female 4) Male



Genus Ramphodon - 1 species

Hermit, Saw-billed Ramphodon naevius  Found: Brazil
The Saw-billed Hermit has dark crown, mask; orange throat; heavily striped breast.
Image by: 1. 2) Dario Sanches  3) Nick Athanas  4) Luiz_Carlos_Rocha



Genus Threnetes

Barbthroat,_Band-tailed  Threnetes ruckeri  Found: Guatemala to Columbia, Venezuela
The Band-tailed Barbthroat has bronze-green upperparts; dark ear patch; rusty orange breast; gray rest underparts.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Nick Athanas - Costa Rica  3) Michael_Woodruff - Ecuador


Barbthroat,_Pale-tailed  Threnetes leucurus  Found: , Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guianas, Suriname, Venezuela
The Pale-tailed Barbthroat has mainly green upperparts; dark throat (in most subspecies); pale malar streak; small rufous throat patch; pale tail sides.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  3, 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Adriano_Oliveira_Maciel in Brazil, Joe_Tobias in Peru


Barbthroat,_Sooty  Threnetes niger  Found: French Guiana and adjacent Brazil
The Sooty Barbthroat has black throat with adjacent white malar.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) KD Dijkstra



Genus Topaza
Topaz hummingbirs are very colurful, being mainly strongly iridescent golden and crimson with a black hood and a green throat. Females lack the elongated rectrices and have a mainly green plumage. The males are among the largest of the hummingbirds,

Topaz,_Crimson Topaza pella  Found: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela
The male Crimson Topaz has black hood; yellowish-green throat; dark tail streamers; brown wings; metallic orange-red underparts. Female has mainly green plumage.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Tony_Morris - Venezuela  4) Nick Athanas - Brazil  5, 6) Allan_Hopkins - Guyana

Topaz,_Fiery Topaza pyra  Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
The male Fiery Topaz has a velvet black hood, iridescent green throat and a bronzy body overall. Female has mainly green plumage.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2)  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Silvia_Faustino_Linhares  3) Hector_Bottai.





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