Stripe-throated Hermit

Quick Facts

  • Scientific Name: Phaethornis striigularis
  • Spanish Name: Ermitaño gorjirrayado
  • Family: Trochilidae
  • Known Nicknames: Stripe-throated Hermit Hummingbird
  • Average Length: 9–10 cm / 3.5–3.9 in
  • Average Weight: 2.5–3.5 g / 0.088–0.123 oz
  • Wingspan: N/A
  • Key Feature: Decurved bill and dark stripe through the eye bordered by white stripes
  • Primary Diet: Primarily Nectarivore
  • Range: Central America from southern Mexico to western Ecuador
  • Habitat: Understory of humid lowland and foothill forests
  • Social Structure: Solitary
  • Nesting/Breeding: Nest is a cone-shaped cup attached to a hanging leaf tip
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Stripe-throated Hermit (*Phaethornis striigularis*) is a diminutive hummingbird of the tropical understory, instantly recognizable by its slender, decurved bill adapted for sipping nectar from long-tubed flowers. Its general appearance is a study in subtle elegance: a bronzy-green back, a pale cinnamon belly, and a distinctive dark facial mask bordered by a bold white stripe above and below the eye. The species’ namesake feature is a dusky, streaked throat that contrasts with its whitish chest, while its long, graduated tail—tipped with white—flicks constantly as it hovers. A unique behavioral trait is its "hermit" lifestyle, where it follows a solitary "trap-line" foraging route through the forest, visiting the same flowers in a predictable circuit, and it often perches with its tail cocked upward. Specialized for life in dense shade, this hermit’s iridescent feathers catch the light like scattered emeralds, making it a jewel of Central and South American lowland forests.

Fun Facts

Despite its tiny size, the Stripe-throated Hermit is a master of aerial acrobatics, performing elaborate courtship dives that sound like a buzzing bee to attract mates. It has a uniquely curved bill perfectly adapted to sip nectar from Heliconia flowers, and it often uses its long, forked tongue to pierce the base of flowers to steal nectar without pollinating—a behavior known as "nectar robbing." Unlike many hummingbirds, males gather in loose "leks" to sing competitively from perches, and they are known to aggressively chase away larger birds from prime feeding spots. Their feathers also produce a faint, metallic trill during fast flight, a sound unique among hermit hummingbirds.

Habitats & Distribution

The Stripe-throated Hermit inhabits humid lowland and foothill forests, including mature rainforests, secondary growth, and forest edges, often near streams or rivers. It favors the understory and midstory layers where it forages along shaded trails and clearings, and it is also found in adjacent coffee plantations and gardens with dense vegetation. Its geographical range extends from southern Mexico through Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) into northwestern South America, including western Colombia, western Ecuador, and far northwestern Venezuela, typically from sea level up to around 1,500 meters in elevation.

Behaviours & Reproduction

The Stripe-throated Hermit is generally solitary, though males gather at traditional lekking sites to attract females through persistent, buzzy vocalizations and hovering displays. Females select a mate based on these performances and then depart to build a small, cup-shaped nest alone, often attaching it to the underside of a large palm frond or Heliconia leaf for protection from rain and predators. A unique reproductive strategy is its use of a long, decurved bill to access nectar from deep flowers, which provides high-energy resources for the demanding task of raising a single chick per brood. The female incubates the two white eggs for about 16 days and feeds the nestling regurgitated nectar and insects until fledging, with no male involvement in parental care.

Diet

The Stripe-throated Hermit is a specialized nectarivore, with its diet consisting almost entirely of the nectar from a variety of long-tubed, pendant flowers, particularly those from the families Gesneriaceae, Rubiaceae, and Heliconiaceae. Unlike many hummingbirds that aggressively defend feeding territories, this species employs a “trap-line” foraging strategy, following a predictable, repeated circuit of scattered, high-reward flowers in the understory. An interesting fact about its diet is that it does not solely rely on nectar; it also supplements its nutrition by gleaning small arthropods, such as spiders and insects, which it captures in flight or from foliage to obtain essential proteins and amino acids. Furthermore, its long, decurved bill and specialized tongue are perfectly adapted to extract nectar from flowers with corolla lengths that are often inaccessible to other hummingbird species, making it a crucial pollinator for these specific plants.

Colors

The Stripe-throated Hermit is predominantly dull olive-green above with a darker brownish tail, while the underparts are pale grayish-buff. Its most distinctive feature is a bold, dark malar stripe bordering a white or pale buff throat, with a subtle pale supercilium and dark eyestripe. The central tail feathers are elongated and pointed, and the rump often shows a warm rufous wash. This muted coloration provides excellent camouflage in the dappled light of the understory, while the contrasting facial stripes help break up the bird’s outline.