The band-tailed barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri) is a medium-sized hummingbird which is a resident breeder from southeastern Guatemala and Belize to western Ecuador and western Venezuela. This hermit species inhabits the understory of wet forests, woodland edges and old second growth. It occurs in the lowlands, typically up to an elevation of 800 m, although young birds may wander higher. The nest is a cup of plant fibres attached 2–4 m high on the underside of a Heliconia or sometimes a banana leaf. The female alone incubates the two white eggs.