The Tapajós hermit (''Phaethornis aethopygus'') 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. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Tapajós hermit was first described in 1950 as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the little hermit (''P. longuemareus'').Zimmer, J. T. (1950). ''Studies of Peruvian Birds #55. The hummingbird genera ''Doryfera'', ''Glaucis'', ''Threnetes'', and ''Phaethornis''.'' American Museum Novitates 1449: 1–51. At that time many small hermits now treated as separate species were considered subspecies of the little hermit, and the Tapajós hermit was believed to be most closely related to the black-throated hermit (''P. atrimentalis''). In 1996 it was suggested that the Tapajós hermit was entirely invalid, and actually represented a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between the reddish (''P. ruber'') and streak-throated (''P. rupurumii'') hermits.Hinkelmann, C. (1996). ''Evidence for natural hybridisation in hermit hummingbirds (''Phaethornis'' spp.).'' Bulletin B.O.U. 116: 5–14. In 2009 this hypothesis was shown to be incorrect,Piacentini, V. Q., A. Aleixo, & L. F. Silveira (2009). ''Hybrid, subspecies or species? The validity and taxonomic status of Phaethornis longuemareus aethopyga Zimmer, 1950 (Trochilidae).'' Auk 126: 604-612. and the Tapajós hermit was recognized as a valid species.Piacentini, V. Q. (2010).
Recognize Phaethornis aethopyga as a valid species.
'' South American Classification Committee. Accessed 13 August 2010 The Tapajós hermit is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The Tapajós hermit is about long. The male has a metallic olive green crown and back with reddish edges to the feathers and a rich reddish rump. The tail is rounded; the feathers are dusky brownish with reddish shafts and all but the outermost have white at their base. The face is blackish with a pale

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...

and a reddish malar stripe. The chin is white and the throat black becoming rufous on the neck, chest, and belly. The female is similar but with a paler rump and buffy olive underparts with a reddish tinge.Fjeldså, J. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Tapajos Hermit (''Phaethornis aethopygus''), 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.lither3.01 retrieved November 25, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The Tapajós hermit is found in Brazil between the Tapajós and Xingu Rivers, north-flowing tributaries of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

. It inhabits primary forest but also tolerates logged and burned areas. It has been observed in a heavily disturbed ''

terra firme Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

'' area.

Behavior

Feeding

The Tapajós hermit feeds on nectar and is assumed to also consume small insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding

Male Tapajós hermits display to females at

leks A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. A lek can also indicate an avail ...

, but nothing else is known about the species' 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 ...

Vocalization

The Tapajós hermit's song is "a long high-pitched phrase repeated incessantly without pauses between phrases...e.g. 'tsi ... tsi ... tsi ... tsi .. tsi-tsi-tse-tsee-chup-chup'."

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 Tapajós hermit as Vulnerable. Its population size is not known but is thought to be declining due to deforestation and the paving of a major highway with accompanying development.

References

External links

Photos of the ''Phaethornis aethopyga''
WikiAves. {{Taxonbar, from=Q614344

Tapajós hermit The Tapajós hermit (''Phaethornis aethopygus'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy and systematics The Tapajós hermit was first described in 1950 as a subspecies of the little hermit ('' ...

Hummingbird species of South America Birds of the Amazon rainforest Endemic birds of Brazil