Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis) [XC870804]
by id from Mundo Nuevo, Coatzacoalcos Municipality, Veracruz, Mexico (song)
Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis) [XC633401]
by Al\u00e1n Palacios from Luisa Rd. (Restricted Access), Panama (flight call)
Subspecies
Phaethornis longuemareus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis) and Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus) following AOU (2002) and Black-throated Hermit (Phaethornis atrimentalis) following SACC (2005).
One of the small hermits sometimes separated in genus Pygmornis. Often considered conspecific with Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus), but morphological characters indicate closest relationship is to Grey-chinned Hermit (Phaethornis griseogularis). Subspecies saturatus in particular is extremely similar to griseogularis of Grey-chinned Hermit (Phaethornis griseogularis). Other close relatives include Black-throated Hermit (Phaethornis atrimentalis), Reddish Hermit (Phaethornis ruber) and White-browed Hermit (Phaethornis stuarti). Subspecies saturatus (= adolphi) sometimes treated as a separate species.
Further subspecies proposed in Mexico (cordobae = adolphi) and Panama (nelsoni = fraterculus) judged invalid, as claimed differences fail to take into account age- and sex-related variation in saturatus. In north-western Colombia, subspecies saturatus, subrufescens and striigularis come together in a zone of character introgression. Name adolphi pre-dates saturatus, but considered to be preoccupied by almost identical name. Therrefore adolphi subsequently replaced by cordobae, but this in turn becomes junior synonym of saturatus.