A
painting of Saw-billed Hermits by
Barry Kent MacKay was used as the frontispiece for the
Wilson Bulletin... (29 October 2003, volume 115, number 1)
FRONTISPIECE. Saw-billed
Hermits (Ramphodon naevius) perched (male) and hovering (female)
among the native food plant Centropogon cornutus
(Lobeliaceae). The
remarkable bill dimorphism and other superficial characteristics of R. naevius
combine attributes of both main hummingbird lineages (hermits and nonhermits).
Analysis based on DNA sequences reveals that R. naevius is a surprisingly
derived member of the hermit subfamily. Painting by Barry K. MacKay
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