Appearance
The straight-billed hermit is 12 to 14 cm long and weighs 3.5 to 5 g. It is one of the few hermit hummingbirds with a straight bill. Its upperparts are olive green and the underparts brownish to grayish. The innermost pair of tail feathers are longer than the others and have long white tips; the others also have white tips. "P. b. major" is significantly larger than the nominate but has similar plumage.
Distribution
The nominate subspecies of straight-billed hermit is found from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador into northeastern Peru and east through southern Venezuela and the Guianas into Brazil as far south as both banks of the Amazon River. "P. b. major" is found only in east-central Brazil south of the Amazon River and east of the lower Tapajós River.
Status
The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and has separately assessed the straight-billed hermit and "ash-bellied hermit" as being of Least Concern. The population size of neither is known but both are believed to be stable. When treated as a single species, it is common throughout its range and occurs in several protected areas.Habitat
The species mostly inhabits the understory of "terra firme" forest and adjacent semi-deciduous and foothill forests. It can occasionally be found in other landscapes such as "várzea" forest, bamboo thickets, plantations, and secondary forest. In elevation it ranges as high as 1,600 m, in southern Venezuela.Reproduction
The straight-billed hermit's breeding seasons vary throughout its large range, from March to May in Brazil and July to November in Peru. It builds a long cone-shaped nest from plant fibers and spider silk suspended under the tip of a long drooping leaf. The clutch size is two eggs.Food
The straight-billed hermit is a "trap-line" feeder like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of a variety of flowering plants for nectar. It also consumes small arthropods.References:
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