The long-billed hermit is a bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found from central Mexico south through Central America, Colombia and Ecuador into Peru.
Region
Central America and Northwestern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Mexico through most of Central America into Colombia, Ecuador, and northwestern Peru. It inhabits humid lowland and foothill rainforests, second growth, and shaded plantations such as shade coffee. Most common along streams, ravines, and in dense Heliconia thickets where nectar is abundant. Often forages in the dark understory and at forest edges, occasionally entering gardens near forest.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This large hermit hummingbird specializes on long, tubular flowers such as Heliconia and follows a trapline route through the forest understory. Males gather at leks where they deliver persistent, piercing songs and display by fanning the tail and engaging in brief bill-to-bill jousts. Nests are small cups suspended from the undersides of broad leaves over shaded streams. Its long, strongly decurved bill is a hallmark adaptation for deep corolla access.
P. l baroni ("Ecuadorian hermit")
Selva Verde Lodge - Costa Rica
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Outside of leks it forages mostly alone along a repeatable trapline of flowers. Males form leks at traditional sites where they sing from low perches and perform tail-fanning displays, sometimes sparring with the bill. The female alone constructs a small pendant nest under a large leaf, usually over water, and incubates two eggs.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a persistent, sharp, metallic see- or tseet-like note delivered in rapid, steady repetition, often for long periods at leks. Calls include thin, high chips and short buzzes, with audible wing hum during close hovering.
Plumage
Dull brown to olive-brown upperparts with rufous tones on rump and tail, and buffy to cinnamon underparts. Face shows a dark mask framed by bold pale supercilium and malar stripe. Tail is long with pale or whitish tips to the outer feathers; overall plumage appears earthy and unspotted.
Diet
Primarily feeds on nectar from long, tubular flowers such as Heliconia, Costus, and other understory plants. Supplements nectar with small arthropods, especially spiders and tiny insects, gleaned from foliage or hawked in short sallies. Follows a trapline, visiting a sequence of flowering plants repeatedly to maximize nectar intake.
Preferred Environment
Dense understory of humid forests, streamside thickets, and Heliconia patches where flowers are abundant. Also uses semi-open second growth and shaded agroforestry systems like shade coffee near intact forest.
