The minute hermit is a tiny species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland and foothill evergreen forest, forest edges, secondary growth, and shaded agroforestry such as cacao plantations. Prefers dense understory with a steady supply of tubular flowers. Often recorded near streams and along shaded trails where flowering plants are concentrated. Its distribution is patchy due to fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest, and local abundance varies with flower availability.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
One of the tiniest hermit hummingbirds, the minute hermit is adapted to the dim understory of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. It follows a trapline of flowering plants for nectar and also takes tiny insects for protein. Males gather at leks to deliver thin, repetitive songs, while females build small suspended nests, often near streams. It can persist in shaded cacao (cabruca) plantations but is sensitive to extensive forest loss.
Temperament
solitary and traplining
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Males display at small leks, singing persistently from low perches to attract females. After mating, females alone construct a tiny, suspended cup nest, often overhanging water or in shaded understory. Territoriality is usually weak; individuals follow regular foraging circuits to blooming plants.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a thin, high, insect-like series of repeated notes delivered at length from a concealed perch. Calls include sharp, high chips used during foraging and interactions at leks.
Plumage
Small, dusky-olive hermit with buffy underparts and typical hermit facial patterning. Tail relatively short with contrasting pale tips on the outer feathers and rufous-tinged undertail coverts.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from tubular flowers, including understory plants such as Heliconia, Costus, and various shrubs and vines. Supplements its diet with small arthropods, hawking midges and gnats or gleaning tiny spiders from foliage. Foraging follows a trapline, visiting a set sequence of flowering plants to maximize nectar intake.
Preferred Environment
Usually forages in the shaded understory and along forest edges where nectar sources are concentrated. Also uses secondary growth and shaded cacao plantations when flowering is abundant.
