HUMMINGBIRDS   -   TROCHILIDAE   -   PART I

Saw-billed Hermit Ramphodon naevius Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. Male, because of the obvious hook on the end of the upper mandible. A very distinctive monotypic genus endemic to lowland Atlantic Rainforest of Southeast Brazil.		Saw-billed Hermit Ramphodon naevius Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. Female, lacking the hook on the tip of the bill.

Band-tailed Barbthroat Threnetes ruckeri ruckeri Reserva Ecologica Cotacachi-Cayapas, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador Not a very well-marked individual, perhaps it is a juvenile.

Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber ruber Michelin Forest, Ituberá, Bahia state, Brazil. Originally mis-ID'd as Minute Hermit (P. idaliae) due to the white tail tips, but Rasmus Boegh pointed out that Minute Hermit would not have such a rufous rump or cinnamon belly.

Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber ruber Floresta Amazonica Hotel, Mato Gross state, Brazil. A male on a song perch. There weren't any others nearby, so I wouldn't call it a lek.

White-whiskered Hermit Phaethornis yaruqui Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Female, due to the obviously decurved bill and grayish tinge to the underparts. This species is a Chocó endemic, restricted to lowland and foothill rainforest of W. Colombia and W. Ecuador.

Scale-throated Hermit Phaethornis eurynome Boa Nova, Bahia state, Brazil. Typically a bird of humid Atlantic Forest, but I found this bird lekking in dry forest, which was quite a surprise.		Scale-throated Hermit Phaethornis eurynome RPPN Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia state, Brazil. A different angle of the same species, showing the rump pattern.

Buff-bellied Hermit Phaethornis subochraceus Caiman Lodge, Mato Grosso de Sul state, Brazil. Strangely, the local guide there told me that this was the first definite record from the reserve. While not a good photo, it shows the rump well. Tthe other large, sympatric hermits should have a contrasting rump.		Tooth-billed Humminigbird Androdon aequatorialis Reserva Ecologica Cotacachi-Cayapas, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador. This species, along with the lancebills, is intermediate between the hermits and the typical hummers. Ornithologists are unsure which subfamliy to place them in, or if they deserve their own subfamily.

Green-fronted Lancebill Doryfera ludovicae ludovicae Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Probably a female due to the grayer underparts and very small green frontlet.

Gray-breasted Sabrewing Campylopterus largipennis largipennis Barquilla de Fresa Lodge, Bolívar state, Venezuela. The more widespread nominate race.

Gray-breasted Sabrewing Campylopterus largipennis diamantinensis Caraça reserve, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This disjunct race is endemic to the Serra de Espinhaço in Minas Gerais. According to HBW, the outer tail feathers are wider and more bronzy-green than other races.

Rufous-breasted Sabrewing Campylopterus hyperythrus Sierra de Lema (La Escalera), Bolívar state, Venezuela. A tepui endemic, quite common in scrubby edges above about 1200m on the Escalera.

Violet Sabrewing Campylopterus hemileucurus mellitus La Cinchona, Heredia provinca, Costa Rica. Male. In light rain.		Swallow-tailed Hummingbird Eupetomena macroura macroura Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Probably a male due to size and bright plumage.

Sombre Hummingbird Aphantochroa cirrochloris Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. Too bad about that branch, but it is perhaps the dullest of all the hummingbirds endemic to Brazil. It is a monotypic genus, though some authorities want to place it in Campylopterus due to similarities in primary structure, though I would never has guessed that relationship from looking at the bird...		Sombre Hummingbird Aphantochroa cirrochloris RPPN Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia state, Brazil. A different individual much farther north in its range, showing a little less green scaling on the underparts.

White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora mellivora Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica. Male. A hummer with a very large range, but little or no racial variation. Now only the birds on tiny Tobago are usually separated as a different race.		White-necked Jacobin Florisuga mellivora mellivora Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica. Female.

Black Jacobin Florisuga fusca Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. It doesn't look much like it's cousin above (and there is no sexual dimorphism), but studies show they are closely related.

Brown Violetear Colibri delphinae La Cinchona, Heredia provinca, Costa Rica. Obviously photographed at almost the same time as the Violet Sabrewing above. Despite it's large, and sometimes disjunct, range, there are no races described for this species.

Green Violetear Colibri thalassinus cyanotus Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador I intend to replace this shot as soon as I get a better one, but it's useful to show the differences with the next species, which frequently occurs together with it.		Sparkling Violetear Colibri coruscans coruscans Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Despite how it looks it here, the Sparkling Violetear averages about an inch larger than the Green Violetear.

White-vented Violet-ear Colibri serrirostris Mello Leitão Museum, Santa Tereza, Espiritu Santo state, Brazil. Yes, it's a feeder shot, but it does show the features on the bird quite well.

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