The gorgeted woodstar is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Region
Northern Andes
Typical Environment
Occurs in montane and cloud-forest zones of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. It favors forest edges, clearings, second growth, and shrubby ravines where flowering plants are abundant. The species readily visits gardens and shade coffee where native hedgerows persist. It is most common in mosaics of woodland and scrub, often along ridgelines and stream corridors.
Altitude Range
800–3000 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This tiny hummingbird of the Northern Andes often resembles a bumblebee in flight, with a high-pitched wing hum and rapid, darting movements. Males show a brilliant iridescent gorget and a crisp white pectoral band used in display flights. It typically feeds by traplining between scattered flowering shrubs. Females alone build the nest, a small cup of plant down bound with spider silk.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with hovering; agile, bumblebee-like
Social Behavior
Generally solitary at flowers, with males defending small nectar patches. Courtship involves display flights that show off the gorget and white pectoral band. Females build a small cup nest of plant down and spider silk on a horizontal twig and incubate two eggs without male assistance.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are thin, high-pitched tsit and tzee notes, often given during chases around flower patches. Wing hum is conspicuous at close range and can sound like an insect buzz.
Plumage
Male with shimmering green upperparts, a glittering violet-purple gorget, and a clean white pectoral band contrasting with buffy underparts; tail short and slightly forked. Female is green above with a whitish throat lightly speckled and warm buff to cinnamon flanks, tail dark with pale tips. Both sexes are very small with compact bodies and narrow, pointed wings.
Diet
Primarily consumes nectar from a variety of Andean shrubs and epiphytes, including Fuchsia, Ericaceae (e.g., Cavendishia), and hummingbird-pollinated vines. Supplements diet with small arthropods for protein, gleaned from foliage or hawked in short sallies. Often follows a trapline route between reliable flower sources.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along forest edges, secondary growth, hedgerows, and riparian thickets where tubular flowers are concentrated. Also visits rural gardens and shade coffee where native flowering plants are retained.
