Long-billed Hermit
Phaethornis longirostris
The long-billed hermit is 13 to 16 cm (5.1 to 6.3 in) long. Males weigh 5 to 7.5 g (0.18 to 0.26 oz) and females 4 to 6.5 g (0.14 to 0.23 oz). The nominate subspecies P. l. longirostris has greenish-brown upperparts and brownish to grayish underparts. Its uppertail coverts have dark and light ochre bands and the central tail feathers are long with long white tips. It has a long decurved bill, with the female's being shorter but more curved than the male's. P. l. cephalus is similar but its underparts become more ochraceous towards the southern part of its range. P. l. Voice: The songs of the three northern subspecies of long-billed hermit are "a continuous series of single, piercing, usually upslurred 'sweeup' notes". Their call is "a sharp, explosive 'week!'" that is often given in flight. The song of P. l. baroni is "a continuous series of single, sparrow-like, chipping notes...'tchee..tchee..tchee..'." Its call is "a thin 'seep'" also given in flight.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Planalto Hermit
Phaethornis pretrei
The planalto hermit is about 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) long. Males weigh 4.5 to 7 g (0.16 to 0.25 oz) and females 3 to 5 g (0.11 to 0.18 oz). This medium-sized hermit has mostly olive green upperparts with reddish uppertail coverts. The next-to-inner tail feathers are longer than the others and all have white tips. Their underparts are cinnamon red. The face has a black "mask" with a white supercilium and gular stripe. The sexes are similar but the female has shorter wings and a less strongly decurved bill. Voice: The planalto hermit's song is variable, "often a sequence of evenly-spaced, alternating, single and double notes, e.g. 'ti-tsi...tsi...tsi...tsi...ti-tsi...tsi..tsi', but also sometimes triple-noted phrases such as 'chu-tsi-tsi...chu-tsi-tsi...chu-tsi-tsi...'."
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Long-billed Hermit and Planalto Hermit.