Bird Guide

Emerald-chinned Hummingbird vs Straight-billed Hermit

Emerald-chinned Hummingbird (Abeillia abeillei)

Emerald-chinned Hummingbird

Abeillia abeillei

Tiny3 gForest

The emerald-chinned hummingbird is 7 to 8.6 cm (2.8 to 3.4 in) long and weighs about 2.7 to 3.5 g (0.095 to 0.12 oz). Both sexes of both subspecies have a short, straight, dull black bill. The nominate adult male has metallic bronze green to greenish bronze upperparts. Its central pair of tail feathers are bronze green and the rest black with a faint bluish or bronzy gloss. All have brownish gray tips. Its face has a bold white spot behind the eye. Its chin and upper throat are brilliant metallic emerald green and the lower throat velvety black to dusky metallic bronze green. Voice: The emerald-chinned hummingbird's song is "a high, thin, slightly squeaking chipping, tsin, tisn-tsin tsin-tsin tsin-tsin, or tsi tsi tsi-si, tsi-tsi tsi tsi-tsi..." When foraging it gives "a liquid, rattling trill ... at times only single notes given, puip puip" and when perched "a sharp sii'ing".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ryan F. Mandelbaum · CC BY 4.0
Straight-billed Hermit (Phaethornis bourcieri)

Straight-billed Hermit

Phaethornis bourcieri

Tiny4 gForest

The straight-billed hermit is 12 to 14 cm (4.7 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 3.5 to 5 g (0.12 to 0.18 oz). It is one of the few hermit hummingbirds with a straight bill. Its upperparts are olive green and the underparts brownish to grayish. The innermost pair of tail feathers are longer than the others and have long white tips; the others also have white tips. P. b. major is significantly larger than the nominate but has similar plumage. Voice: The straight-billed hermit's song is "a high-pitched phrase repeated over and over, punctuated by short dull-sounding notes, 'tsii'ti'ti'tsii...tip...tip...tsii'ti'ti'tsii....tip...tip...tip...'", and is very different from the songs of other Phaethornis hermits. Its calls are usually given in flight and include "a rather monotonous 'tseet' and a dull 'chep'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Biodiversity Heritage Library · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Emerald-chinned Hummingbird and Straight-billed Hermit.