Gorgeted woodstar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gorgeted woodstar |
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| Female in NE Ecuador | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Genus: | Chaetocercus |
| Species: |
C. heliodor
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| Binomial name | |
| Chaetocercus heliodor (Bourcier, 1840)
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| Synonyms | |
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Acestrura heliodor |
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The gorgeted woodstar (Chaetocercus heliodor) is a tiny, colorful hummingbird. It belongs to a group of hummingbirds called "bee hummingbirds" because they are so small! You can find this bird in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela in South America.
Contents
About the Gorgeted Woodstar
Scientists group living things into categories. This helps us understand how different species are related. The gorgeted woodstar is part of the Chaetocercus genus. It used to be in a different group, but scientists updated its classification.
There are two types, or subspecies, of the gorgeted woodstar:
- C. h. heliodor (the main type)
- C. h. cleavesi
What Does It Look Like?
The gorgeted woodstar is a very small bird. It is only about 5.8 to 6.4 centimeters (2.3 to 2.5 inches) long. This makes it the smallest of all the woodstar hummingbirds! Both male and female birds have a straight, black beak.
Male Gorgeted Woodstar
The male bird is mostly a shiny, dark blue-green color. It has a special patch of feathers on its throat called a gorget. This gorget is a beautiful pinkish-purple color and stretches across its neck. Males also have a grayish line behind their eyes, a grayish chest, and white spots on their sides. Their tail is forked, with very short feathers in the middle.
Female Gorgeted Woodstar
The female bird looks a bit different. Her upper body is a bronzy-green color, and her lower back (rump) is reddish-brown. Her belly and chest are a warm cinnamon-red color. Her tail is rounded and cinnamon-colored, with a black stripe near the end.
Subspecies Differences
The males of the C. h. cleavesi subspecies are a darker color than the main type. Their purple throat patch is also less bright, and they have a shorter tail.
Where Do They Live?
The gorgeted woodstar lives in the Andes mountains of South America.
Location of Subspecies
- The main subspecies, C. h. heliodor, lives in the Andes from Venezuela, through Colombia, and into western Ecuador.
- The C. h. cleavesi subspecies is found in the Andes of northeastern Ecuador.
Their Home Environment
These tiny birds like places that are partly open, like the edges of humid forests. They can also be found in coffee farms and areas with some trees and bushes. Sometimes, they even visit the lower parts of high-altitude grasslands called páramo. They live at elevations between 1,200 and 3,000 meters (about 3,900 to 9,800 feet) above sea level.
Behavior and Habits
Movement
Scientists are not sure if gorgeted woodstars move around a lot. However, they think these birds might move to different elevations depending on the season.
What Do They Eat?
Gorgeted woodstars mainly drink nectar from flowers. They find nectar in the middle and upper parts of trees and plants. A favorite food source is the flowers of Inga trees.
These small birds do not usually protect their feeding areas. Because they are so tiny and fly slowly, like a bumblebee, they can sometimes sneak into other hummingbirds' territories to feed without being noticed! Besides nectar, they also catch small insects. They do this by flying out from a perch to snatch insects in the air, a behavior called hawking.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
In some parts of Colombia, the gorgeted woodstar's breeding season is from April to October.
They build a cup-shaped nest using soft plant materials. On the outside, they add lichens, small pieces of leaves, and tiny twigs. They use spiderwebs to attach their nest to a branch, either vertical or horizontal. Not much more is known about their breeding habits.
Vocalization
The gorgeted woodstar makes short, dry calls. You might hear a single "chit," a doubled "chichit," or a tripled "chichichit" sound. They make these calls while hovering or feeding.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the gorgeted woodstar as a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently at high risk of disappearing.
They live across a fairly large area. Even though we don't know their exact population size, it is believed to be stable. Some places might have very few of these birds, while others have many. Because they are so small and can be hard to spot, there might be more of them than we realize!
 | Shirley Ann Jackson |
 | Garett Morgan |
 | J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. |
 | Elijah McCoy |
