The black-throated hermit (''Phaethornis atrimentalis'') is a species of

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

in the family

Trochilidae Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics arou ...

. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The black-throated hermit was for a time considered a subspecies of

little hermit The little hermit (''Phaethornis longuemareus'') is a hummingbird that is a resident breeder in north-eastern Venezuela, northern Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Trinidad. This lowland species occurs in various semi-open wooded habitats, e.g. ...

(''P. longuemareus''), but is more closely related to the

reddish hermit The reddish hermit (''Phaethornis ruber'') is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the Guianas. Taxonomy and systematics In 1743 the English nat ...

(''P. ruber'') and grey-chinned hermit (''P. griseogularis''). It has two subspecies, the nominate ''P. a. atrimentalis'' and ''P. a. riojae''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021Hinkelmann, C. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Black-throated Hermit (''Phaethornis atrimentalis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkther1.01 retrieved November 27, 2021

Description

The black-chinned hermit is about long, with ''P. a. riojae'' being larger than the nominate. The species has generally greenish upperparts with a reddish rump and a white-tipped dark tail. The throat is dark brown and the rest of the underparts cinnamon red but for whitish undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

. Males often have a dark band between the throat and breast. Females are similar to males but their throat is lighter and they generally have longer wings.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of black-chinned hermit is found in the eastern

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru's Loreto department. ''P. a. riojae'' is found further south, in central Peru between the departments of

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

and Pasco. The species inhabits the understory of

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

(especially it edges),

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, and more open landscapes such as plantations and swamp forest. It is mostly a bird of the lowlands but is found as high as south of Peru's

Marañón River , name_etymology = , image = Maranon.jpg , image_size = 270 , image_caption = Valley of the Marañón between Chachapoyas ( Leimebamba) and Celendín , map = Maranonrivermap.png , map_size ...

Behavior

Movement

The black-throated hermit is believed to be sedentary.

Feeding

The black-throated hermit is a " trap-line" feeder like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of flowering plants of many species for nectar. It also consumes small

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

Breeding

The black-throated hermit's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

has not been documented. Observations indicate that its breeding season includes July and November in Peru and September in Ecuador.

Vocalization

The black-throated hermit's song is "a high-pitched phrase repeated incessantly without pauses between phrases...e.g. 'tsee ... tsee ... tsee ... tsee .. tseeetew'." Its call is "a high-pitched 'pseep!'" that is usually given in flight.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the black-throated hermit as being of Least Concern, though its population size has not been determined and is believed to be decreasing. It is found in a few protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q944117

black-throated hermit The black-throated hermit (''Phaethornis atrimentalis'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The black-throated hermit was for a time considered a subspec ...

Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Ecuadorian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Amazon

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot