Minute Hermit Phaethornis idaliae Scientific name definitions

The Minute Hermit is a resident of Brazil from Bahia south to Rio de Janeiro. True to its name, the Minute Hermit is a very small member of the hummingbird subfamily Phaethornithinae. These sexually dimorphic hummingbirds have dark green iridescent upperparts, with males displaying a dark brown throat and patchy iridescent feathers on the breast and females displaying an orange-ochraceous throat and breast. The Minute Hermit can be found in the understory of primary or secondary growth forest islands within coastal cerrado. This restricted range hummingbird is confined to extremely vulnerable rainforest habitat in the Atlantic forest lowlands, and any further destruction of forest poses a severe threat to this species future.

8·4–9·2 cm (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); 1·8–2·7 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Very small, sexually dimorphic hermit with pointed central rectrices and dark green iridescent upperparts. Male has dark brown throat , with some patchy iridescent feathers on breast. Female has orange-ochraceous throat and breast  , and broader tail feather margins than male, but has on average longer wing and tail (mean values, 37 mm and 34 mm, respectively, versus 35 mm and 23 mm in male) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); underparts ­remarkably similar in coloration to female P. longuemareus, but that species larger. Juvenile female  like adult female; juvenile male has breast darker than adult female, but paler than adult male; tail feather margins as broad as in female.

SE Brazil (SE Bahia S to Rio de Janeiro).

Understorey of primary or only slightly disturbed littoral forest, forest edge, old secondary growth, forest islands within the coastal cerrado (restinga). Has been recorded in mature Eucalyptus plantations adjacent to primary forest (2 Antas, P.T.Z. and Almeida, A.C. (1998). Bird community of Eucalyptus plantation and adjacent Atlantic Forest Reserve, Espirito Santo state, south eastern Brazil. Ostrich. P. 417 in:. Close ). Occurs below 500 m.

Nectar  and small arthropods, including Araneae, with vegetable matter also recorded in stomach contents (3 Lima, C. A., P. R. Siqueira, R. M. M. Gonçalves, M. F. Vasconcelos, and L. O. Leite (2010). Dieta de aves da Mata Atlântica: uma abordagem baseados em conteúdos estomacais. Ornitología Neotropical 21(3):425–438. Close ). Feeds by trap-lining.

Song a high-pitched phrase c. 3 seconds long, repeated incessantly. It typically consists of a high-pitched note repeated 3–4 times, followed by an accelerated descending warble. Males sing from low perches at a lek where several birds gather.

Oct–Feb. Nest similar to P. longuemareus; two eggs  , size 8 mm × 13 mm, mass 0·32 g (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); incubation  by female, at least 14 days; fledging 20 days, sometimes more.

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Restricted-range species: present in Atlantic Forest Lowlands EBA. Confined to a vulnerable rainforest habitat, further destruction of which may pose a severe threat to the survival of the species; should perhaps be classed as Data Deficient or Near Threatened. Recently recorded as far S as Parati, close to the border of Rio de Janeiro state with that of São Paulo (4 Browne, P.W.P. (2005). The birds of Parati, south-east Brazil. Cotinga. 24: 85–98. Close ). Occurs in Rio Doce State Park (Minas Gerais), União Biological Reserve and Desengano State Park (Rio de Janeiro) (5 Pacheco, J.F., Parrini, R., Fonseca, P.S.M., Whitney, B.M. and Maciel, N.C. (1996). Novos registros de aves para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro: Região Norte. Atualidades Orn.. 72: 10–12. Close ), and Reserva Natural Linhares and Sooretama Biological Reserve (Espírito Santo). Rare in scientific collections.