[4] The South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), and the Clements taxonomy assign three subspecies to the grey-chinned hermit, the nominate P. g. griseogularis, P. g. zonura, and P. g. porcullae.

BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World elevates the last to species status, the "porculla hermit" (P.

All three subspecies have generally greenish upperparts, a cinnamon red rump, and dark tail feathers with white tips.

Males have a grayish throat and cinnamon red underparts, often with a black band across the chest.

P. g. zonura is found in the valley of the Marañón River of northern Peru, in eastern Cajamarca and adjacent Amazonas departments.

P. g. porcullae is found from the western Andes of southwestern Ecuador's province of Loja into northern Peru's departments of Tumbes, Piura, and Lambayeque.

P. g. porcullae inhabits humid woodland and moist areas within otherwise seasonally dry forest.

The only described nest is of P. g. porcullae; it was a cup made of moss, seed down, and other plant material suspended from the underside of a long drooping leaf.

[1][2] The nominate subspecies is believed to be reasonably common, but the relatively small range of P. g. zonura "could be cause for future concern".