Reddish Hermit (Phaethornis ruber)

Reddish Hermit

Subspecies

Genus	Species	subspecies	Breeding Range	Breeding Range 2	Non Breeding Range
Phaethornis	ruber		SA	widespread
Phaethornis	ruber	episcopus		c and e Venezuela, Guyana, nw Brazil
Phaethornis	ruber	longipennis		s Peru
Phaethornis	ruber	nigricinctus		e Colonbia and sw Venezuela to n Peru
Phaethornis	ruber	ruber		Suriname and French Guiana through Brazil to se Peru and n Bolivia

Physical charateristics

A very small Hermit with crown, upper back and wing coverts copper. Rump and upper tail coverts orange rufous. Tail bronze brown with narrow rufous tips; central pair tail feathers tipped white. Sides of the head black, with a white un der eye stripe. Throat buffy white, under parts rufous brown and a black band across the breast. Sexes are alike. Bill black with lower mandible partly yellow.

Listen to the sound of Reddish Hermit

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/R/Reddish Hermit.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

wingspan min.:	0	cm	wingspan max.:	0	cm
size min.:	8	cm	size max.:	9	cm
incubation min.:	15	days	incubation max.:	17	days
fledging min.:	15	days	fledging max.:	17	days
broods:	1		eggs min.:	1
			eggs max.:	3

Range

South America : widespread

Habitat

Prefers the understorey of lowland rainforest, forestedges and islands of forest in open areas. Also woodland, savannas and thickets

Reproduction

It usually nests in second growth, primarily in such palms as Astrocaryum mumbaca. Nests are 0.4 to 2.3 m up (average 1.1 m). The nest is of soft seed plumes and attached under the tip of a palm leaf by spider webs. Wind, which shakes the nests, may restrict nest heights and sites. Clutches are always of two eggs. Incubation lasts about 2 weeks done by female only. The young fledge after a period of 15-22 days. After leaving the nest the feamle take care of the young for a few days more.

Feeding habits

Diet consists of nectar of flowers and sometimes anthropods.

Conservation

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend is not known, but the population is not believed to be decreasing sufficiently rapidly to approach the thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Migration

Sedentary throughout range

Distribution map

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