Tapajos Hermit vs Allen's Hummingbird

Phaethornis aethopygus compared with Selasphorus sasin

Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Tapajos Hermit Allen's Hummingbird
Scientific Name Phaethornis aethopygus Selasphorus sasin
Order Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Family Trochilidae Trochilidae
Conservation Status Vulnerable Least Concern
Length
Wingspan 8.2 cm (3.2 in) 8.1 cm (3.2 in)
Weight 3.0 g (0.11 oz) 3.1500000000000004 g (0.11 oz)
Diet Nectar generalist visiting a wide range of forest flowers; also catches small arthropods by aerial … Feeds on nectar from coastal sage scrub and forest flowers in California. Supplements diet with …
Clutch Size -- 2
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

Tapajos Hermit only

None

Allen's Hummingbird only

None

Song & Call Comparison

Tapajos Hermit

Song

Rapid, bubbling series of soft notes; pleasant liquid twittering reminiscent of water over pebbles in a shallow stream.

Allen's Hummingbird

Song

Deep, resonant churring trill; prolonged low buzzing sound carrying well across broad coastal mangroves.

Geographic Range & Migration

Tapajos Hermit

Found in the Amazon basin in Brazil, primarily along the Tapajós River and its tributaries. Resident in humid lowland forest undergrowth.

Allen's Hummingbird

Breeds along the Pacific coast from Oregon to southern California. Partial migrant; some Channel Islands populations resident year-round.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable

Tapajos Hermit

Least Concern

Allen's Hummingbird

How to Tell Them Apart

Tapajos Hermit

Plumage

Small hermit; bronze-green upperparts with orange-buff rump; pale buff underparts with faint streaking; pale supercilium; white-tipped elongated central tail feathers; Amazonian species recently split; orange-buff rump distinctive among small hermits.

Allen's Hummingbird

About These Birds

Tapajos Hermit

A small hermit hummingbird (10-11 cm) found along the Tapajós River basin in central Brazil. Green plumage with rufous underparts. Nectarivore of forest undergrowth. Recently described as a species distinct from other Phaethornis hermits based on vocal and plumage differences.

Allen's Hummingbird

A small hummingbird (8-9 cm) breeding along the Pacific coast from Oregon to southern California. Males have an orange-red throat and rufous flanks. Closely related to Rufous Hummingbird. Partial migrant; some populations resident on Channel Islands. Named after Thomas Allen.

More Birds to Explore

Explore the Nature FYI Family