Threnetes ruckeri
The Band-tailed Barbthroat, *Threnetes ruckeri*, is a striking member of the hermit hummingbird subfamily, renowned for its distinct throat markings and elusive nature within the humid forests of Central and South America. Measuring approximately 10-11 cm (4-4.3 inches) in length and weighing 4-6 grams, this diminutive avian jewel sports bronzy-green upperparts, a conspicuous rufous rump, and a dark, often jagged-edged, blackish throat patch bordered by a prominent white or buff malar stripe....
Found in lowland to foothill humid evergreen forests, forest edges, and dense secondary growth, often near streams or ravines. It occurs from sea level up to elevations of approximately 1200 meters, occasionally reaching 1500 meters.
Primarily feeds on nectar from a variety of long-tubed flowers, and supplements its diet with small insects and spiders gleaned from foliage or caught in flight.
This hummingbird is a classic 'trap-liner,' meticulously following a regular circuit of widely dispersed flowering plants, visiting them in sequence multiple times a day. Males often sing from concealed perches within the understory, sometimes forming loose, dispersed leks where they perform cour...
The Band-tailed Barbthroat boasts a broad, though somewhat disjunct, distribution across Central and northern South America. Its range extends from eastern Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, southward into western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. East of the Andes, isolated population...
Least Concern
- The 'barbthroat' in its name refers to the distinctive, often irregular or jagged-edged, dark throat patch. - Like other hermits, they are master 'trap-liners,' efficiently visiting a circuit of scattered flowers rather than defending a single patch. - Their nests are architectural marvels, res...