Great-billed Hermit Phaethornis malaris Scientific name definitions

The Great-billed Hermit is a widespread member of the Phaethornithinae subfamily, and can be found in eastern Colombia, Peru and Ecuador south to Bolivia and east to western Brazil. Populations can also be found in Surinam and French Guiana and in coastal eastern Brazil. This medium sized hermit is very similar in appearance to the Long-tailed Hermit (P. supreciliosus), but can be distinguished from this species by its faint gular stripe. The Great-billed Hermit inhabits the understory of terra firme, pre-montane, humid tropical, and transitional forests, as well as bamboo thickets and shrubbery. Like other hermit speices, the diet of the Great-billed hermit consists of nectar and small arthropods. These birds are not globally threatened, but the race margarettae is confined to forest remnants within its range in eastern Brazil.

13–17·5 cm (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ); male 4·5–10 g, female 4–8 g. Medium-sized to large hermit similar to P. superciliosus, but with gular stripe faint or absent in adult male; like P. longirostris, but with only two pale ochraceous bands on longest uppertail-coverts. Female has shorter wings and bill, latter slightly more decurved. Juvenile has pale ochraceous feather margins on upperparts. Nominate race is largest (mean wing 70 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), with darkest underparts; insolitus very similar to malaris but smaller (mean wing 64 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), intergrades with moorei (mean wing 65 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), which has paler, greyer underparts. Race <em>bolivianus</em> smaller than <em>moorei</em> , with dark brown throat and breast and orange-ochraceous belly; very similar, perhaps with paler underparts and different tail coloration, is geographically distant margarettae  (mean wing 63 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Race ochraceiventris larger than last three (mean wing 65 mm) (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ), with breast and belly bright orange.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Understorey of uninundated lowland rainforest of the terra firme, pre-montane and humid upper tropical forest, transitional forest, second growth, bamboo thickets, shrubbery; race ochraceiventris found in igapó forest. Usually below 600 m, but up to 1500 m in Colombian and 1650 m in Bolivian Andes, though recorded up to 2400 m.

Nectar  of Heliconia, Pitcairnia, etc. and small arthropods. Feeds by trap-lining.

Song a continuous series of single, bisyllablic rising, falling “slee-up” notes, given at rate of c. 1–1·5 notes/second. Some variation among subspecies, with e.g. malaris singing doubled or tripled notes. Call a sharp “skweep!”, usually in flight.

Occupied nests Aug–Dec, French Guiana; gonadal activity Jun–Sept in Bolivia, Jun–Nov in Peru. Nest generally as in P. longirostris, but differs from P. superciliosus mulleri in being rather taller, in nominate race measuring 215 mm from top to bottom, with an external diameter of 42 mm and an internal diameter of 22 mm (1 Grantsau, R. (1988). Os Beija-flores do Brasil. Expressão e Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Close ). Two eggs; incubation 14–15+ days, by female; fledging probably 20–23 days.

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Race margarettae  , limited to forest remnants in E Brazil, could be threatened by further habitat destruction.