The straight-billed hermit is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Northern Amazon Basin and the Guianas
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland humid tropical forests across northern Amazonia, from eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela through the Guianas into northern Brazil, and west into eastern Ecuador and Peru. It favors dense understory along streams, forest edges, and clearings with abundant Heliconia and other tubular flowers. The species uses both terra firme and várzea (seasonally flooded) forest, often along shaded trails and ravines. It can persist in selectively logged forest and secondary growth if floral resources are available.
Altitude Range
0–1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The straight-billed hermit is a hummingbird notable for its unusually straight bill, which suits a different set of tubular flowers than most hermits with strongly decurved bills. Like many hermits, males gather in leks and deliver persistent, high-pitched songs to attract females. It follows traplines, repeatedly visiting a circuit of nectar sources, and also takes tiny arthropods for protein.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Generally solitary while foraging and follows a trapline among favorite flowers. Males gather in leks where they sing persistently from exposed understory perches to court females. The female alone builds a small pendant nest of plant fibers and spider silk, usually suspended from the underside of a broad leaf over water or a shaded trail.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A high, thin, and repetitive series of squeaky notes delivered for long periods, often from a low perch in the understory. Calls include sharp tseet and thin chips given during foraging and interactions at flowers.
Plumage
Dusky olive-brown upperparts with buffy to rufous-washed underparts and a slightly paler throat. Typical hermit facial pattern with a bold pale supercilium and contrasting dark eye stripe. Tail is graduated with pale to whitish tips on the outer rectrices.
Diet
Primarily nectar from understory flowers such as Heliconia, Costus, and other tubular blossoms suited to its straighter bill. It supplements nectar with small arthropods, gleaned or hawked, providing essential protein. Traplining behavior allows efficient exploitation of dispersed nectar sources while reducing competition.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in shaded understory along streams, forest edges, and gaps with dense flowering plants. Frequently visits flowering patches at consistent intervals along a regular route.
