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Needle-billed Hermit | Phaethornis philippii
Naaldsnavelheremietkolibrie | Ermitaño picoaguja | Rabo-branco-amarelo
The Needle-billed Hermit is a hermit of south-western Amazonia, with an almost straight, thin bill and rufous-orange underparts. It lives in the understorey of lowland forest south of the Amazon, in Peru, Bolivia and western Brazil. Like its relatives it follows a fixed route past flowers.
Voice
The call is a sharp tsip. Males sing at leks in the understorey with a repeated, high note.
Recording: JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
12–13 cm, with a long, almost straight bill; the lower mandible is yellow to orange at the base. The upperparts are bronzy green, the rump rufous. The underparts are orange-brown to cinnamon, the throat somewhat paler. The face shows a dark mask between pale supercilium and malar stripes, with little contrast. The central tail feathers are elongated and white-tipped. The sexes are almost alike.
Confusion species
Straight-billed Hermit Phaethornis bourcieri also has a straight bill, but grey underparts, and lives mainly north of the Amazon. Koepcke's Hermit Phaethornis koepckeae is very similar, but has a more sharply marked face and lives higher, in the foothills. Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber is much smaller, with a decurved bill. White-bearded Hermit Phaethornis hispidus is grey below.
Habitat
Understorey of terra firme lowland forest, várzea and bamboo forest, and forest edges, mostly below 600 m. It visits understorey flowers along a fixed route and also takes small insects. The nest hangs from the underside of a leaf.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Peru in the Amazonian lowlands, mainly south of the Amazon and the Marañón. In Bolivia in the lowlands of the north. Absent from Colombia and Ecuador and from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in western Brazil, south of the Amazon.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Search along forest trails in the lowland forest of south-eastern Peru, such as around Tambopata and in the Manu lowlands, and wait at flowering Heliconia in the understorey.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Deforestation in south-western Amazonia affects its habitat locally.
Scientific name
Phaethornis philippii | (Bourcier, 1847)
Bourcier described the species in 1847 as Trochilus Philippii; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Phaethornis was introduced in 1827 by Swainson. The genus name combines Ancient Greek phaethōn, 'sun', with ornis, 'bird'. The species name honours Filippo De Filippi (1814–1867), an Italian zoologist and professor of zoology in Milan. The specimen the first description was based on came from Bolivia.