Bird
Bird
Little Hermit
Phaethornis longuemareus
The Little Hermit is the smallest hermit hummingbird recorded in Trinidad, a diminutive, warm-toned bird of dense forest understorey and secondary growth, easily overlooked despite its constant, high-pitched, insect-like song delivered from low display perches.
The Little Hermit is the smallest hermit hummingbird recorded in Trinidad, a diminutive, warm-toned bird of dense forest understorey and secondary growth, easily overlooked despite its constant, high-pitched, insect-like song delivered from low display perches.
Identification
A small hummingbird around 9 to 10 cm long, including short central tail feathers tipped white. Plumage is bronze-green above and buffy below, duller and less strikingly patterned than many hummingbirds, with a moderately long, decurved bill typical of hermits and a distinctive dark facial stripe bordered by pale buff lines. Its small size and subdued colouring make it easy to overlook against dense understorey foliage.
Ecology
The Little Hermit feeds on nectar from small understorey flowers via traplining and supplements its diet with tiny insects and spiders. Like other hermits, males form small leks in dense understorey, singing persistently from low perches to attract females. It favours dense secondary growth, forest edge, and understorey tangles, often at lower and more disturbed forest strata than larger hermit species.
Status in T&T
Common in dense secondary growth, forest edge, and understorey tangles across Trinidad. It is not threatened and tolerates moderately disturbed habitat better than some forest-interior specialists. It is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act and is not a game species.
Threats
- No major threats; adaptable to secondary growth and forest edge
