Rumbito Pechiblanco
Purple-throated Woodstar
Philodice mitchellii
Song
Purple-throated Woodstar
Appearance: The Purple-throated Woodstar is a very small hummingbird. The male has green upperparts, a glittering purple throat, pale underparts, and a short tail with cinnamon/rufous tones and a dark band near the tip. The female lacks the purple throat; she is green above, pale below, and has a patterned tail with cinnamon and dark markings. Like many woodstars, it can look like a large insect when flying.
Habitat: It lives in humid forest, cloud forest, forest edges, and nearby flowering clearings. It is often associated with mountain forest and flowering trees, especially in humid Andean areas. It occurs from lowlands700 m up to about 2,400 m, but is often more numerous above 1,000 m.
Behavior: It feeds mainly on nectar, often high in flowering trees such as Cordia and Inga. It also catches small insects and other arthropods by flying out from a perch. Males may defend feeding territories. In Colombia, it appears to make altitudinal movements, breeding higher in the mountains and moving lower outside the breeding season.
Breeding: In southwestern Colombia, breeding has been recorded from about December to May. The female builds a tiny cup nest made with fine plant fibers and spiderweb, usually placed on a branch in a tall tree. The clutch is usually two eggs, and incubation lasts about 15–17 days.
Conservation Status: The Purple-throated Woodstar is listed as Least Concern.
MALE
FEMALE
Distribution
It is found mainly in both slopes of the Western Andes, especially along the Cordillera Occidental, where it occurs on humid forest slopes, cloud forest, forest edges, and flowering clearings.
Taxonomy
The Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Caprimulgiformes
- Family: Trochilidae
- Genus: Philodice
- Species: mitchellii
Vocalization
Squeaky Call: A repeated squeaky “kyee-kyee-kyee-kyee” call, likely heard during movement, feeding, or interactions with other hummingbirds.
Territorial Call: Males defend feeding territories, so they may give sharp squeaky notes during chases around flowers, but detailed descriptions are limited.
