Band-tailed Barbthroat
Band-tailed Barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri)
Name Origin:
The genus name Threnetes comes from the Greek threnos (“wailing” or “lament”), likely referencing the bird’s plaintive, high-pitched call. The species name ruckeri honors Heinrich Rucker, a 19th-century natural history collector active in Central America.
Quick Facts
🪶 Length: 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in)
⚖️ Weight: 5–6.5 g (0.18–0.23 oz)
🌎 Range: Central America to northwestern South America
🧭 Elevation: Sea level to 1,200 m (3,940 ft)
🌸 Diet: Nectar and small arthropods
🏡 Habitat: Humid lowland forest, forest edges, and shaded secondary growth
🧬 Clade: Phaethornithini — “Hermits” (long-billed forest hummingbirds)
📊 Status: Least Concern (IUCN)
Subspecies & Distribution
3 subspecies:
Threnetes ruckeri ventosus
Distribution: Eastern Guatemala and Belize south through Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama.
Threnetes ruckeri ruckeri
Distribution: Northern and western Colombia and western Ecuador (south to El Oro).
Threnetes ruckeri venezuelensis
Distribution: Northwestern Venezuela (east to western Apure and western Barinas).
Species Overview
The Band-tailed Barbthroat is a distinctive hermit hummingbird easily recognized by its curved bill, rufous tail band, and low, buzzing wing sound. Ranging from Central America to northwestern South America, it is a specialist of forest understories rich in heliconias and gingers—plants it pollinates while foraging.
Male Description:
Males are characterized by olive-brown upperparts, a buff throat bordered below by a dark line, and rufous tail feathers tipped dusky. The underparts are pale buff shading to cinnamon on the flanks. The long, decurved bill is black with a reddish base on the lower mandible, well adapted for accessing deep tubular flowers.
Female Description:
Females resemble males but are slightly paler overall, with more cinnamon wash on the underparts and a longer, more curved bill. Both sexes show subtle tail flicking and produce a low, humming flight sound typical of the hermit group.
Habitat & Behavior:
Preferring humid lowland rainforest, riparian woodland, and shaded secondary growth, the Band-tailed Barbthroat feeds primarily on Heliconia nectar, supplementing its diet with small insects. It follows a trap-lining foraging route—visiting a circuit of flowers repeatedly. Between feeding bouts, it perches low and often vocalizes softly, giving thin, squeaky notes.
Conservation Note:
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the Band-tailed Barbthroat remains common across its wide range, though deforestation and lowland habitat loss threaten some populations. Conservation of humid forest understory and Heliconia-rich growth ensures the persistence of this vital pollinator and its ecological partnerships.
Below is the Band-tailed Barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri ruckeri)
Photographed in RN San Cipriano–Escalerete, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
This individual belongs to the nominate subspecies ruckeri, which occurs along the Pacific slope of western Colombia and extends south into western Ecuador as far as El Oro. It inhabits humid lowland and foothill forest, favoring streamside vegetation and dense Heliconia thickets in the shaded understory.
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