Rufous-breasted Hermit

Sightings
We had a few irregular sightings of Rufous-breasted Hermit at the Asa Wright Centre on Trinidad. It was one of the hummmingbird species at the Centre which seemed to feed on plants directly rather than use the feeders.

Species
This hermit inhabits forest undergrowth, often near running water. Its food is nectar, taken from a variety of understory flowers, and some small invertebrates. It has very discriminating feeding habit and will only visit flowers whole corollar length and curvature precisely matches that of its bill, while most other hummingbirds are far more flexible. There are two subspecies of which G. h. insularum is found only on Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago.

Status and Distribution
Rufous-breasted Hermit Glaucis hirsutus is a species of least concern with a decreasing population in its range of some thirteen million square kilometres. It breeds from Panama south to Bolivia, and on Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada. It is a widespread and generally common species, though local populations may change in numbers and disappear altogether in marginal habitat. It is a common resident on both Trinidad and Tobago where it feeds on Heliconia plants.

References
BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 162

Photograph
Taken in the early morning at 1/2000th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 2000.