Grey-chinned hermit

Appearance

The nominate "P. g. griseogularis" and "P. g. zonura" subspecies of grey-chinned hermit are 8 to 10 cm long; males weigh 1.8 to 2.5 g and females 1.9 to 3 g. "P. g. porcullae" is about 10.5 cm long and weighs about 2.5 g. It also has longer wings than the other two subspecies. All three subspecies have generally greenish upperparts, a cinnamon red rump, and dark tail feathers with white tips. Males have a grayish throat and cinnamon red underparts, often with a black band across the chest. Male "P. g. zonura" is paler than the nominate, with more grayish underparts and a more decurved bill. "P. g. porcullae" is even paler than the other two subspecies and has more white in the tail. Females of all three subspecies are paler versions of the males.

Distribution

"P. g. griseogularis" is found in the eastern Andes from Colombia south through eastern Ecuador into northern Peru as far as San Martín department, and also in south and southeastern Venezuela and on several isolated mountains in adjacent northern Brazil. There are a few records in the western Andes of Colombia. "P. g. zonura" is found in the valley of the Marañón River of northern Peru, in eastern Cajamarca and adjacent Amazonas departments. "P. g. porcullae" is found from the western Andes of southwestern Ecuador's province of Loja into northern Peru's departments of Tumbes, Piura, and Lambayeque.

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so treats the "grey-chinned" and "porculla" hermits separately. The organization assesses both as being of Least Concern, though the population size of neither is known and both are believed to be decreasing. The nominate subspecies is believed to be reasonably common, but the relatively small range of "P. g. zonura" "could be cause for future concern". "P. g. porcullae" is also described as "fairly common" but it too has a rather limited range. It is found in several protected areas.

Habitat

The subspecies of grey-chinned hermit have somewhat different habitat preferences, but the common feature is dense growth, whether of cloudforest understory, secondary forest, or forest edges. "P. g. griseogularis" adds gallery forest. It usually occurs between 600 and 1,800 m of elevation but is found below 400 m in eastern Colombia, as high as 2,200 m in Peru, and as low as 300 m in Venezuela. "P. g. zonura" prefers drier woodland. It too usually occurs between 600 and 1,800 m. "P. g. porcullae" inhabits humid woodland and moist areas within otherwise seasonally dry forest. In elevation it ranges from 400 to 1,600 m in Peru and from 900 to 2,000 m in Ecuador.

Reproduction

The grey-chinned hermit is known to congregate at leks, at least during part of the year. The subspecies' breeding seasons are not well defined, but that of "P. g. griseogularis" includes October, that of "P. g. zonura" includes March, and that of "P. g. porcullae" appears to span at least from January to June. The only described nest is of "P. g. porcullae"; it was a cup made of moss, seed down, and other plant material suspended from the underside of a long drooping leaf. It contained two eggs, both of which hatched. The other two subspecies' nests are assumed to be similar.

Food

The grey-chinned hermit subspecies "P. g. griseogularis" and "P. g. zonura" are known to be "trap-line" feeders like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of flowering plants for nectar. They also consume small arthropods. "P. g. porcullae" is assumed to have a similar feeding strategy and diet.