The Broad-tipped Hermits (Anopetia gounellei) – also known as Gounelle’s Hermits or Long-tailed Barbthroats – are South American hermits (hummingbirds) that are only found in the hilly interior of northeast Brazil from Piauà to Bahia; where they inhabit caatinga woodland and semi-deciduous forest between 1,600 – 2,300 ft (~ 500 – 700 m) above sea level.
Its populations are highly localized and they are generally uncommon.
Alternate (Global) Names
Spanish: Ermitaño Chico de Cola Blanca, Ermitaño Coliancho … Italian: Colibrì del sole di Gounelle, Eremita codamacchiata … French: Anopetia gounellei, Ermite de Gounelle … German: Caatingaschattenkolibri, Rostbarteremit, Rostbart-Eremit … Latin: Anopetia gounellei, Phaethornis gounellei, Threnetes longicauda … Czech: KolibrÃk rusovousý, kolib?Ãk tmavohrdlý … Danish: Caatingaeremit … Finnish: Bahianerakkokolibri … Japanese: ojiroyumihachidori … Dutch: Oranjestuitheremietkolibrie, Oranjestuit-heremietkolibrie … Norwegian: Caatingaeremitt … Polish: pustelnik bialosterny, pustelnik bia?osterny … Portuguese: marronzinho, Rabo-branco-de-cauda-larga … Swedish: Caatingaeremit
Description
The Broad-tipped Hermit is a stocky hermit with a short-wedge-shaped tail. The upper plumage is bronzy-green. The plumage below is brownish. Its tail feathers are white-tipped.
This species has been named after its broad upper bill. The bill is long with a slight downward curve.
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Nesting / Breeding
Hummingbirds in general are solitary and neither live nor migrate in flocks; and there is no pair bond for this species – the male’s only involvement in the reproductive process is the actual mating with the female.
During the breeding season, the males of many Hermit species form leks (= competitive mating displays) and congregate on traditional display grounds. Once a female enters their territory, they display for her. Their display may entail wiggling of their tails and singing. Willing females will enter the area for the purpose of choosing a male for mating. Oftentimes she will choose the best singer.
He will separate from the female immediately after copulation. One male may mate with several females. In all likelihood, the female will also mate with several males. The males do not participate in choosing the nest location, building the nest or raising the chicks.
The female Broad-tipped Hermit is responsible for building the remarkable cone-shaped nest which hangs by a single strong string of spiders’ silk and/or rootlets from some overhead support, which could be a branch or the underside of the broad leaves of, for example, Heliconia plants, banana trees or ferns about 3 – 6 ft (1 – 2 m) above ground. However, these unusual nests have been found beneath bridges, in highway culverts and even hanging from roofs inside dark buildings. The nest is often near a stream or waterfall. It is constructed out of plant fibers woven together and green moss on the outside for camouflage in a protected location. She lines the nest with soft plant fibers, animal hair and feather down, and strengthens the structure with spider webbing and other sticky material, giving it an elastic quality to allow it to stretch to double its size as the chicks grow and need more room.
The average clutch consists of two white eggs, which she incubates alone, while the male defends his territory and the flowers he feeds on. The young are born blind, immobile and without any down.
The female alone protects and feeds the chicks with regurgitated food (mostly partially-digested insects since nectar is an insufficient source of protein for the growing chicks). The female pushes the food down the chicks’ throats with her long bill directly into their stomachs.
As is the case with other hummingbird species, the chicks are brooded only the first week or two, and left alone even on cooler nights after about 12 days – probably due to the small nest size. The chicks leave the nest when they are about 20 days old.
Diet / Feeding
The Broad-tipped Hermits primarily feed on nectar taken from a variety of brightly colored, scented small flowers of trees, herbs, shrubs and epiphytes.They favor flowers with the highest sugar content (often red-colored and tubular-shaped
