Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Schuchmann K.L. (1986) Natal care and growth in a nestling Reddish Hermit Phaethornis ruber in Surinam. ARDEA 74 (1): 101-104
The natal care and growth of a nestling of the Reddish Hermit (Phaethornis ruber, adult body mass 2.36 g ¦ 0.11 SD) were studied at the Voltzberg Nature Reserve in Surinam (for morphogenetic details of the offspring see Fig. 2). The incubation period was 17 days, and the nestling fledged after 15 days. The growth rate constant K is 0.469 and the t10- 90, the inverse measure of growth rate, is 9.4 days. Both values are much higher than in other tropical hummingbird species and even exceed those reported for two temperate zone trochilids. Obviously, the low adult body mass of P. ruber implies fast growth rate. Thermoregulation in the nestling P. ruber became evident at an age of 7 days.


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