Straight-billed Hermits

The Straight-billed Hermits (Phaethornis bourcieri) is a South American hummingbird that occurs naturally in the Guyanas, Suriname, and French Guiana; northern Amazon Basin of Brazil; Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; and eastern Venezuela and the Orinoco River Basin.

They inhabit the understorey of lowland terra firme rainforest; as well as the dense areas of adjacent semi-deciduous or pre-montane forest; To a lesser extent, they can be found along the forest edge, in bamboo thickets, varzéa fores, second growth or plantations and lowlands up to ~ 5,000 feet (1,600m).

It is also known as Ermitaño Piquirrecto (Spanish), Ermite de Bourcier (French) and Braunbauch-Schattenkolibri (German).

Subspecies and Distribution

    • Phaethornis bourcieri bourcieri (Lesson, 1832) – Nominate Race
      • Range: Eastern Colombia and northern Peru to southern Venezuela, Guianas and Brazil north of Amazon.
    • Phaethornis bourcieri major (Hinkelmann, 1989)
      • Range: Brazil south of Amazon along eastern bank of lower Tapajós river.

Hummingbird Resources

Description

They have been named after their long, straight beaks. The upper beak is dark-colored; the lower beak is orangy with dark tip.

The upper plumage is greenish-brownish in color. The dark dail is white-tipped. The chest and abdomen are pale.

 
 
 
 
 
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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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