About Phaethornis hispidus (Gould, 1846)
Taxonomy and Common Name
Phaethornis hispidus (Gould, 1846), commonly called the white-bearded hermit, is a medium-sized hermit hummingbird.
Size
Adults are 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weigh 4 to 6 g (0.14 to 0.21 oz).
Plumage Upperparts and Underparts
It has bronzy green upperparts with gray edges on its uppertail coverts, and gray underparts.
Facial Markings
Its face features a black "mask" marked by a white supercilium and white malar stripe, with a white stripe running down the center of the throat.
Sexual Dimorphism
Females have identical plumage to males, but have shorter wings, and a shorter, more decurved bill.
Geographic Distribution
This species is found in Amazonia, ranging from the Andean foothills of western and southern Venezuela, south through eastern Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to northeastern Bolivia, and east across all of western Amazonian Brazil.
Elevation Range
It typically occurs from lowlands up to 850 m (2,800 ft) in elevation, though it has been recorded as high as 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Peru.
General Habitat Type
It inhabits humid landscapes.
Lowland Habitat
In the lowlands, it mostly lives in regularly inundated areas such as river corridors and várzea forest.
Higher Elevation Habitat
At higher elevations, it prefers gallery forest found in cerrado and llanos.
