The Bahama woodstar or Bahama hummingbird is a species of hummingbird endemic to the Lucayan archipelago, including the Bahamian and Turks and Caicos islands. It is named the "hummer" by locals due to a distinct humming sound it makes while feeding.
Region
Caribbean
Typical Environment
Occurs across many islands of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, inhabiting coastal scrub, Caribbean pine edges, gardens, and secondary growth. It frequents flowering shrubs and trees in settlements and resorts, as well as native coppice and thickets. Mangrove fringes and dune vegetation are also used where nectar sources are available. It readily exploits ornamental plantings and hummingbird feeders near homes.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 100 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Bahama woodstar is a tiny hummingbird endemic to the Lucayan Archipelago (the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands). Locals call it the “hummer” for the distinct buzzing created by its rapid wingbeats while feeding. Males perform energetic display flights and show a glittering magenta-purple throat to attract females. It is generally tolerant of human presence and often visits garden flowers and feeders.
Temperament
territorial and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile hovering
Social Behavior
Generally solitary outside of breeding, defending rich nectar sources vigorously against other hummingbirds and insects. Courtship includes hovering displays and rapid, darting flights by the male near the female. The tiny cup nest is built from plant down and spider silk on a low branch or shrub, with two white eggs typical of hummingbirds.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are high, thin chips and buzzy trills, given during foraging and territorial chases. The loud wing hum is often the first clue to its presence, especially around flowering shrubs.
Plumage
Iridescent green upperparts with pale whitish underparts; males show a flashy magenta‑purple gorget that shimmers with angle and light. Females have a whitish throat with buffy wash and green speckling, and a more rounded tail with white tips on outer feathers. Both sexes have a slender straight bill and relatively plain, dark tail compared with related forms.
Diet
Takes nectar from a wide range of native and ornamental flowers, probing corollas with its slender bill and tongue. Supplements nectar with small insects and spiders for protein, hawking them in short sallies or gleaning from foliage. Frequently visits hummingbird feeders where available.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in gardens, coastal scrub, and edges of pinewoods and coppice where flowering plants are abundant. Often forages at eye level to canopy height, moving rapidly between blooms.
