The Band-tailed Barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri) is a medium-sized hermit species that is considered a fairly common species in the Costa Rican lowlands on both coasts. However, it is very rarely reported close to Turrialba (no recent reports at all) and so an incident at the house of our neighbour, Sue Magree, back in November 2019 needs to be documented.

Here’s a fuller view of a Band-tailed Barbthroat, courtesy of Richard Garrigues:

Sue’s feeders are well-attended by other hummingbird species but the only other hermits she has found so far have been the common “Little Hermit”, officially now termed the Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis), and the large forest species, the Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy). See the following photos for comparison purposes: