The Mexican hermit (Phaethornis mexicanus) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is endemic to Mexico.[3]
| Mexican hermit | |
|---|---|
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| Mexican hermit in Oaxaca | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Phaethornis |
| Species: | P. mexicanus
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| Binomial name | |
| Phaethornis mexicanus Hartert, EJO, 1897
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Taxonomy and systematics edit
The Mexican hermit was previously treated as a subspecies of the long-billed hermit (Phaethornis longirostris). Following two 2013 publications, the North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the American Ornithological Society in 2015 recognized it as a separate species. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World followed suit.[4][3][5][6]
The Mexican hermit has two subspecies, the nominate P. m. mexicanus and P. m. griseoventer.[3]
Description edit
The Mexican hermit is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long. The nominate subspecies has a dusky crown and bronzy green nape and upperparts. The rump feathers are bronzy green with cinnamon edges and the tail is black with white tips to the feathers. The face has black cheeks and pale cinnamon stripes behind the eye and below the cheek. The throat is mostly pale buff and the rest of the underparts are dusky brownish gray with a cinnamon wash on the belly. P. m. griseoventer is slightly paler overall; its crown is dull greenish, its throat stripe whitish to pale buff, and it has more white on the central tail feathers.[7]
Distribution and habitat edit
The Mexican hermit is found in two separate areas of Mexico's Pacific coast. The nominate P. m. mexicanus occurs to the southwest from western Guerrero south to southeastern Oaxaca. P. m. griseoventer occurs further north, between Nayarit and Colima. The species inhabits the interior and edges of humid evergreen forest, Heliconia thickets, and ravines in semi-deciduous woodlands. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[3][7]
Behavior edit
Movement edit
The Mexican hermit is believed to be sedentary.[7]
Feeding edit
The Mexican hermit is a "trap-line" feeder like other hermit hummingbirds, visiting a circuit of a variety of flowering plants for nectar. It also consumes small arthropods.[7]
Breeding edit
Almost nothing is known about the Mexican hermit's breeding phenology. Nests with eggs were found in late May and early July.[7]
Vocalization edit
The song of the Mexican hermit's P. m. griseoventer subspecies is "a continuous series of single, metallic notes...'chieh...chieh...chieh...'." Its call is "a shrill, slurred, relatively drawn-out 'skweih'". The vocalizations of the nominate P. m. mexicanus have not been documented. However, both subspecies are known to sing at leks of four to six males.[7]
Status edit
The IUCN has assessed the Mexican hermit as being of Least Concern. Its population is estimated to be at least 20,000 mature individuals but is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Mexican Hermit Phaethornis mexicanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22726352A152218186. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22726352A152218186.en. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c d Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ R. Terry Chesser, Richard C. Banks, Kevin J. Burns, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Irby J. Lovette, Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., James D. Rising, Douglas F. Stotz, and Kevin Winker. "Fifty-sixth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk: Ornithological Advances. 2015, vol. 132:748-764 retrieved December 9, 2021
- ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
- ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021
- ^ a b c d e f del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Mexican Hermit (Phaethornis mexicanus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.mexher1.01 retrieved December 9, 2021