Blue-tufted Starthroat vs Saw-billed Hermit

Blue-tufted Starthroat

Heliomaster furcifer

Tiny5 gForest

The blue-tufted starthroat is 12.6 to 13 cm (5.0 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 5 to 6.5 g (0.18 to 0.23 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a long, decurved, black bill and a small white spot behind the eye. Both have a forked tail but the female's is less deeply indented than the male's. Males in breeding plumage have an emerald green crown, nape, and upper back; the rest of the upperparts are shining coppery green. The throat is glittering violet. The underparts and elongated feathers on the sides of the neck are iridescent ultramarine. Voice: The blue-tufted starthroat does not appear to have a conventional song. It does make "a descending, pure-whistled 'tseep'" call.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Lindolfo Souto, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lindolfo Souto · cc-by

Saw-billed Hermit

Ramphodon naevius

Tiny8 gForest

The saw-billed hermit is 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 5.3 to 9 g (0.19 to 0.32 oz). It is one of the three heaviest hermits and the male is heavier than the female. Both sexes have saw-like serrations on the mandible and the male's bill has a hooked tip as well. (The unrelated tooth-billed hummingbird (Androdon aequatorialis) is the only other hummingbird that has a serrated bill.) Both sexes have scaly brown upperparts and dark and pale striped underparts. They have a reddish ochre throat, a dark patch through the eye, and a white supercilium. Voice: The saw-billed hermit's song is a "very high, chattering twitter". Calls include "a sustained, rapid series of very high 'bic' notes" and "a descending series...of 'seee' notes." The calls are apparently used while defending the trap-line.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Johann Baptist von Spix (1781-1826) · Public domain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-tufted Starthroat and Saw-billed Hermit.