Rufous-shafted Woodstar
Common name: Rufous-shafted Woodstar
Scientific name: Chaetocercus jourdanii
Clades: Mellisugini - Bees
A tiny but vibrant hummingbird, the Rufous-shafted Woodstar inhabits northern South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It prefers dry to semi-humid forests, scrub, and open woodlands, often at the foothills and lower mountain slopes. Measuring only 7.5 to 9 cm (3 to 3.5 in) and weighing 2.5 to 3 grams (0.09 to 0.11 oz), this delicate species is best known for its fast, insect-like flight and richly colored plumage.
Male Description:
The male is striking, with iridescent green upperparts, a brilliant magenta-violet throat (gorget), and rufous-colored shafts on the tail feathers, which give the species its name. His underparts are buffy-white with a warm cinnamon wash on the flanks. The tail is slightly forked, and the bill is short, straight, and black. In flight, males often produce a distinctive buzzing sound with their wings.
Female Description:
Females are less vivid but equally charming, with green upperparts, a pale buffy or whitish throat, and rufous-cinnamon flanks and tail bases. Their tails are rounded with white tips on the outer feathers. While lacking the bright throat patch of the male, they retain the characteristic rufous tail shafts.
Habitat & Behavior:
The Rufous-shafted Woodstar inhabits dry scrublands, open forests, and gardens, often from sea level to about 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). It feeds on nectar from flowering shrubs, trees, and herbs, as well as small insects. Despite its tiny size, it is highly agile and territorial, frequently engaging in brief, whirring chases with other hummingbirds. Its flight is so rapid and bee-like that it can easily be overlooked.
2 subspecies:
C. j. jourdanii
Distribution NE Venezuela (mountains of Sucre and N Monagas); Trinidad.C. j. rosae
Distribution highlands of N Venezuela (Falcón to Miranda).C. j. andinus
Distribution Sierra de Perijá, and Andes of Venezuela (Lara to Táchira) and E Andes of N Colombia.