Green Hermit

Green Hermit

Phaethornis guy

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Cali

In 3 days ~10%

39 Verified sightings at Cali
17,247 In all 21 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Green Hermit

The green hermit (Phaethornis guy) is a large hummingbird that is a resident breeder from southern Central America (Costa Rica and Panama) south to northern South America (north-eastern Venezuela and Trinidad, and the northern Andes of eastern Peru)

It is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long and weighs 6.3 g (0.22 oz). The male is mainly dark green with a blue-green rump. It has a dark mask through the eye, with buff stripes above and below this, and down the centre of the throat. The central feathers of the tapered tail are—for large hermit—relatively short and white-tipped, and are wiggled in display at the communal leks. The reddish bill is long and decurved. The female is sooty gray (rather than green) below, with an even longer bill and a much longer tail. The call of this species is a loud zurk, and the males' lekking "song" is a repeated swark.

The nominate subspecies Phaethornis guy guy is found in Venezuela and Trinidad. The western P. g. apicalis of the American Cordillera is slightly smaller and the sexes more similar. This hermit inhabits forest undergrowth, usually near water, and prefers hilly areas. It seems to favor primary rainforest... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:11

Ecuador · 2025

© Marc Anderson · XC1094105 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:45

Colombia · 2024

© Andrés Mauricio López · XC973283 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:10

Costa Rica · 2017

© Albert Lastukhin · XC894195 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~60%
2 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
3 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
4 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
5 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
6 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
7 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
8 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
9 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
10 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
11 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
12 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
13 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
14 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
15 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
16 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
18 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
19 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
20 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
21 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cali 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
2 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Green Hermit in Cali?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green Hermit sighting in Cali on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 119th most-seen of the 226 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Green Hermit in Cali?

September and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Green Hermit in Cali on a given day, against under 5% in October and December–August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Green Hermit?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green Hermit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Cali the best place to see a Green Hermit?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Green Hermit sightings, Cali has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come San José (Costa Rica, under 5%).

Where does the Green Hermit sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Green Hermit is recorded against all the birds logged in Cali (39 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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