The great-billed hermit is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Northern South America (Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield)
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland and foothill humid forests across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Prefers shaded understory of primary and mature secondary rainforest, along forest edges, and near streams. Frequently visits flowering thickets, forest gaps, and Heliconia stands. Often found along ravines and in gallery forests where nectar sources are abundant. Uses regular foraging routes between spaced flowering plants.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This large hermit hummingbird uses a traplining strategy, visiting a circuit of flowering plants such as Heliconia and Costus. Males gather at leks where they sing persistent, high-pitched phrases to attract females. Nests are typically cone-shaped, attached with spider silk to the underside of broad leaves, often overhanging streams. Its long, strongly decurved bill allows it to reach nectar in long, curved corollas.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Outside the breeding season it forages alone along a regular trapline. Males display at leks, where spaced singing perches are defended and visited by females. The nest is a small cone or cup suspended by spider silk from the underside of a broad leaf, often over water, and the female handles incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a series of thin, high-pitched, squeaky notes repeated at steady intervals, often delivered for long periods at a lek. Calls include sharp tseet and tik notes given while foraging or in brief chases.
Plumage
Dusky olive-brown upperparts with buffy to grayish underparts and a slightly paler throat. Classic hermit pattern with a pale supercilium and dark cheek stripe (mask). Tail with elongated central feathers and whitish tips; outer tail often shows rufous tones at the base. Overall appearance is muted and camouflaged for the forest understory.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from tubular, often curved flowers such as Heliconia, Costus, and other understory plants. Supplements its diet with small arthropods, gleaned from foliage or hawked in short sallies. Follows a predictable route between flowering patches, allowing replenishment of nectar sources. Uses its long, decurved bill and extensible tongue to reach deep nectar.
Preferred Environment
Shaded forest understory, along streams, and in dense thickets with abundant flowering plants. Also visits edges, clearings, and secondary growth where nectar sources are concentrated. Frequently forages at mid to low levels near large leaves and flower clusters.
