Phaethornis philippii
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The needle-billed hermit (Phaethornis philippii) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. The needle-billed hermit is monotypic. It and the straight-billed hermit (P. bourcieri) were at one time placed in genus Ametrornis that was later merged into Phaethornis. The needle-billed hermit and Koepcke's hermit are sister species and may form a superspecies.
The needle-billed hermit is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh 4 to 6 g (0.14 to 0.21 oz) and females 4 to 5.5 g (0.14 to 0.19 oz). It is one of the few hermit hummingbirds with a nearly straight bill. Its upperparts are dark bronzy green with a dull rufous rump. The tail is mostly dark green. The innermost pair of tail feathers are longer than the others and have long white tips; the others have broad buffy rufous tips. The face has a black "mask" bordered with narrow pale streaks. The underparts are orange.
The needle-billed hermit is found in eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and western Brazil south of the Amazon River as far east as the Tapajós River. It inhabits the understory of lowland... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Needle-billed Hermit sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 501st most-seen of the 641 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Needle-billed Hermit in Manu National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Needle-billed Hermit sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Needle-billed Hermit sightings, Manu National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, under 5%).
Same genus: Phaethornis
The closest relatives of the Needle-billed Hermit that you can see in Manu National Park (genus Phaethornis, Typical Hermits) are White-bearded Hermit (about 30%), Great-billed Hermit (about 10%) and Reddish Hermit (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Needle-billed Hermit is recorded against all the birds logged in Manu National Park (29 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
