Bird Guide

Pale-bellied Hermit vs White-bearded Hermit

Pale-bellied Hermit (Phaethornis anthophilus)

Pale-bellied Hermit

Phaethornis anthophilus

Tiny6 gForest

The pale-bellied hermit is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long. Males weigh 4.5 to 5.5 g (0.16 to 0.19 oz) and females 4 to 5 g (0.14 to 0.18 oz). This medium-sized hermit has dark green to olive green upperparts and light gray underparts. The face has a black "mask" with a buffy supercilium and a mostly white throat. The male's bill is almost straight and the female's is decurved. P. a. hyalinus has more bluish green upperparts and paler underparts than the nominate. Members of the suggested P. a. fuscicapillus have shorter wings and bills than the rest of the nominate. Voice: The pale-bellied hermit's song has not been well described. Its calls are "rather piercing, high-pitched notes".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0
White-bearded Hermit (Phaethornis hispidus)

White-bearded Hermit

Phaethornis hispidus

Tiny5 gForest

The white-bearded hermit is about 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 4 to 6 g (0.14 to 0.21 oz). This medium-sized hermit has bronzy green upperparts with gray margins on the uppertail coverts. The underparts are gray. The face has a black "mask" with a white supercilium and malar stripe; the center of the throat has a white stripe. The female has identical plumage but shorter wings and a shorter and more decurved bill than the male. Voice: The white-bearded hermit's song is "a continuous series of high-pitched single notes 'seep'. It is typically sung from a low perch while gathered at a lek with other males. Its call is "a short explosive 'pip!'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

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

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Pale-bellied Hermit and White-bearded Hermit.