Rumbito Colirrufo
Rufous-shafted Woodstar
Chaetocercus jourdanii
Song
Rufous-shafted Woodstar
Appearance: The Rufous-shafted Woodstar is a tiny hummingbird with a straight black bill and small white flank patches behind the wings. The male is bottle-green above, with a white breast, green belly, and a deeply forked black tail with rufous-orange feather shafts, which give the species its name. The throat color varies by subspecies: violet, rosy-crimson, or rosy-purple. The female is bronzy green above and rufous below, with a rounded, lobed tail marked cinnamon, green, and dark bars.
Habitat: It inhabits semi-open and open mountain habitats, including scrublands, forest edges, edges of montane forest, coffee plantations, and sometimes the lower parts of páramo. It is usually found from about 900 to 2,500 m elevation, though some higher records are uncertain.
Behavior: It feeds on nectar from flowering plants and trees, including Inga, and also eats small arthropods. It forages at many vegetation levels but often in the middle and upper layers. Because it is very small and has a slow, bumblebee-like flight, it may enter feeding territories defended by larger hummingbirds without being noticed or challenged. It usually does not strongly defend feeding territories.
Breeding: Breeding information is limited. Observations in Colombia suggest that the breeding season includes November. Like other woodstars, the female is responsible for nesting and raising the young, but detailed Colombian nesting data are scarce.
Conservation Status: The Rufous-shafted Woodstar is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
MALE
FEMALE
Distribution
The Rufous-shafted Woodstar is represented by the subspecies Chaetocercus (jourdanii) andinus. It occurs in northeastern Colombia, especially the Sierra de Perijá along the Colombia–Venezuela border and the Eastern Andes.
Taxonomy
The Rufous-shafted Woodstar (Chaetocrecus jourdanii)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Caprimulgiformes
- Family: Trochilidae
- Genus: Chaetocrecus
- Species: jourdanii
Vocalization
Song: The male sings from a high treetop perch. It is described as a rising series of 3–4 thin notes, like: “tssit, tssit, tssit, tssit.”
Call Notes: Its calls are likely very high, thin, and insect-like, similar to other tiny woodstars. These may sound like short “tsit” or “tsee” notes during feeding or movement.
Territorial Call: During interactions around flowers, it may give quick, squeaky notes, but detailed descriptions are limited.
Flight Call: Like other woodstars, its flight can sound bumblebee-like because of rapid wingbeats, but this is a mechanical wing sound, not a true vocal call.
