Sooty-capped Hermit
Encyclopedia
The Sooty-capped Hermit (Phaethornis augusti) is a hummingbird
from Venezuela
, Colombia
, Guyana
and Brazil
. It builds one of the most remarkable nest
s which hangs by a single stout cable of spider
s' silk from some overhead support. These curious nests have been found beneath bridges, in highway culverts, and hanging from the roof inside dark buildings. As far as is known, most other hermits
build rather similar nests.
The binomial commemorates the French entomologist Auguste Sallé
.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It builds one of the most remarkable nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
s which hangs by a single stout cable of spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s' silk from some overhead support. These curious nests have been found beneath bridges, in highway culverts, and hanging from the roof inside dark buildings. As far as is known, most other hermits
Hermit (hummingbird)
The hermits are tropical and subtropical hummingbirds in the subfamily Phaethornithinae, comprising 30–40 species in six genera. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina....
build rather similar nests.
The binomial commemorates the French entomologist Auguste Sallé
Auguste Sallé
Auguste Sallé was a French traveller and entomologistwho specialised in Coleoptera.Following expeditions to the Southern States of the USA , West India, Central America and Venezuela on behalf of Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat) and accompanied by his mother and a M...
.