Animalia Life

Ramphodon naevius
SUBFAMILY
Phaethornithinae
TAXONOMY
Trochilus naevius Dumont, 1818, Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Colibri tachetй; German: Sдgeschnabel-Schattenkolibri; Spanish: Ermitaсo Picosierra.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.5–6.3 in (14–16 cm); female and male 0.19–0.3 oz (5.3–8.5 g). A large hummingbird and the only hermit with saw-like serration of the mandibles, and in the adult male, a hooked tip to the upper mandible. Bill straight. Male larger than female. Both sexes alike. Underneath rufous-ochraceous throat with dark gular stripe. Above copperish green. Immatures similar to adults, but upperparts with pale fringes.
DISTRIBUTION
Southeast Brazil (southern Minas Gerais and Espнrito Santo to Santa Catarina, records from Rio Grande do Sul).
HABITAT
Understory of tropical rainforest up to 1,640 ft (500 m).
BEHAVIOR
Traplining plant visitor. Aggressively defends feeding routes over conspecifics and other hummingbirds. Males establish leks to attract females. Loud metallic flight call.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Collects nectar from long tubular-shaped flowers at forest understorey. Small arthropods are gleaned from vegetation.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds from July to September. Cone shaped nest is loosely constructed and attached underneath a tip of a pendent leaf. Two elliptical eggs; incubation 16–17 days by female.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Restricted range species, considered Near Threatened. Locally common, but habitat destruction may be a threat in the future.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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