Phaethornis guy (R.Lesson, 1833)

Size and Weight

This species measures 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long and weighs 6.3 g (0.22 oz).

Male Plumage

The male is primarily dark green with a blue-green rump. It has a dark mask running through the eye, with buff stripes above and below the mask, and an additional buff stripe running down the center of the throat.

Male Tail Structure and Display Behavior

For a large hermit hummingbird, the central feathers of its tapered tail are relatively short and tipped with white; males wiggle these tail feathers during displays at communal leks.

Bill Characteristics

The long, decurved bill of this species is reddish in color.

Female Morphology

Females have sooty gray underparts instead of green, and have an even longer bill and a much longer tail than males.

Vocalizations

The species' call is a loud zurk, and the lekking song sung by males is a repeated swark.

Subspecies Classification and Distribution

Two subspecies are recognized: the nominate subspecies Phaethornis guy guy occurs in Venezuela and Trinidad, while the western subspecies P. g. apicalis, found along the American Cordillera, is slightly smaller and has greater similarity between the sexes.

General Habitat Preferences

This hummingbird (a hermit) lives in forest undergrowth, most often near water, and prefers hilly landscapes. It favors primary rainforest and wet premontane forest, and while it can tolerate some degree of habitat disturbance such as subsistence farmland, it will avoid secondary forest when higher quality habitat is available.

Altitudinal Range (Colombian Cordillera Oriental)

In the Colombian Cordillera Oriental, it has been recorded at altitudes between 650 and 1,750 m (2,130 and 5,740 ft) above sea level.

Regional Habitat Characteristics

Its habitat in this region typically has a canopy height around 25 m (82 ft), is dominated by trees like Elaeagia (in the Rubiaceae family) or palms, and usually has abundant undergrowth, epiphytes, or hemiepiphytes such as Clusiaceae.