Phaethornis guy, commonly known as the Green Hermit, is a member of the Trochilidae (Hummingbird) family. It is sometimes also called the Guy’s Hermit (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Two subspecies have been documented, the Phaethornis guy guy, which occurs in Trinidad, and P. guy coruscus, who’s range stretches from Costa Rica to W Columbia and SE Peru (Snow 1977, Stiles and Skutch 1989). Both prefer to live in wet mountain forest. They are slightly over 15 cm in length and weigh approximately 6 grams. Males are a dark, iridescent green with black tail feathers that are tipped in white. Females are a more dusky green with grey underparts. Both have long, curved bills. Their primary source of food is nectar. They are also known for their lekking behavior, in which males congregate and display for the purpose of attracting a mate. They have small nests made of plants, spider webs, and treefern scales, and typically nest between February and September in Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989).
Rights Holder: Sarah Swanson
