Phaethornis ruber
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The reddish hermit (Phaethornis ruber) is a species of bird in the family Trochilidae, the hummingbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the Guianas. In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the reddish hermit in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The little brown huming-bird". Edwards based his etching on a specimen owned by the Duke of Richmond that had been collected in Suriname. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the reddish hermit with the hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Trochilus ruber, and cited Edwards' work. The specific epithet ruber is a Latin word meaning "red". The type locality is Suriname. The reddish hermit is now placed in the genus Phaethornis that was introduced in 1827 by William Swainson. The reddish hermit has sometimes been considered conspecific with the white-browed hermit (P. stuarti).
Four subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 7 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 9 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 11 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 12 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Reddish Hermit sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 411 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 157th most-seen of the 641 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Reddish Hermit in Manu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and March, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Reddish 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.
4th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Reddish Hermit sightings, Manu National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 20%), Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 20%) and Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same genus: Phaethornis
The closest relatives of the Reddish 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 White-browed Hermit (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Reddish Hermit is recorded against all the birds logged in Manu National Park (411 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.
