Phaethornis nattereri
The Cinnamon-throated Hermit (Phaethornis nattereri) is a truly captivating hummingbird, typically measuring around 10-12 cm in length and weighing a mere 3-5 grams. Its upperparts shimmer with iridescent bronze-green, contrasting beautifully with its namesake cinnamon-rufous throat and breast, which fades to a whitish belly. A prominent white post-ocular streak and a dark malar stripe frame its face, while its long, decurved bill is a distinctive hermit trait. The central tail feathers are e...
This species primarily inhabits the understory of humid lowland evergreen forests, gallery forests, and sometimes the dense vegetation at forest edges, typically at elevations below 500 meters.
Their diet primarily consists of nectar extracted from a variety of flowers, especially those with long corollas; they also glean small spiders and insects from foliage or catch them in flight.
The Cinnamon-throated Hermit is a quintessential 'trapliner,' diligently visiting a fixed circuit of flowers for nectar throughout the day. Males are renowned for their lekking behavior, where they gather in small groups to sing persistently from favored perches, attracting females with their hig...
The Cinnamon-throated Hermit is endemic to the southern Amazon Basin of South America, primarily found across central and southwestern Brazil, extending into northeastern Bolivia and southeastern Peru. In Brazil, its distribution includes the states of Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso, o...
Least Concern
- The Cinnamon-throated Hermit gets its scientific name, *Phaethornis nattereri*, from Johann Natterer, a 19th-century Austrian naturalist who spent 18 years exploring Brazil. - It employs a 'traplining' foraging strategy, repeatedly visiting a fixed circuit of nectar-producing flowers, much like...