Little Woodstar

Common name: Little Woodstar
Scientific name: Chaetocercus bombus
Clades: Mellisugini - Bees

The Little Woodstar is 6 to 7 cm (2.4 to 2.8 in) long.

A Little Woodstar is a rare hummingbird that can be found only in Ecuador and Peru's northwestern region. This Little Woodstar is a typical example of a woodstar, which is in general a small hummingbird. Males have pinkish-purple gorgets. Male rectrices are generally short and narrow, except for the pair next to the center, which is relatively long. The Little Woodstar species shares its distribution with the White-bellied Woodstar (Chaetocercus mulsant), which has a more purplish gorget and whiter underparts and supercilium. There may also be an overlap between the Little Woodstar and the Esmeraldas Woodstar (Chaetocercus berlepschi) in Ecuador. Little Woodstars may have a moderately wide distribution, but they are nowhere common and their populations are in decline.

Distribution Andes of extreme SW Colombia (S Nariño) and W Ecuador to N Peru; also locally in E Ecuador and NC Peru (Huánuco).