The Inagua woodstar, also called the lyre-tailed hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is endemic to the two islands of the Inagua district of the Bahamas.
Region
Caribbean
Typical Environment
This species is confined to the two islands of the Inagua District in the southern Bahamas. It occupies coastal and inland dry scrub, coppice, and edges of low woodland where nectar sources are available. Birds readily visit flowering ornamental gardens in Matthew Town and other settlements. They also use mangrove fringes and open areas with scattered shrubs. Because the islands are low-lying, the species occurs close to sea level throughout its range.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 30 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Inagua woodstar is a tiny hummingbird found only on Great Inagua and Little Inagua in the Bahamas. Males have a distinctive lyre-shaped, deeply forked tail that gives the species its alternate name, the lyre-tailed hummingbird. It frequents flowering shrubs in scrub and gardens and is an important local pollinator. Its very restricted range makes it vulnerable to hurricanes and habitat changes.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats and agile hovering
Social Behavior
Typically solitary except when breeding or where flowers are abundant. Males display in small territories, often performing shuttle flights and tail-fanning to show the lyre-shaped tail. Nests are tiny cups of plant down and spider silk placed on small branches, and clutches usually contain two eggs.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are high, thin chips and rapid, tittering trills given during foraging and display. Wing and tail may produce audible buzzes or whirs during close flight and courtship flights.
Plumage
Male with glittering magenta-purple gorget, bronzy-green upperparts, and a very long, deeply forked lyre-shaped tail; underparts whitish to buff-washed. Female is green above with pale whitish underparts, buffy flanks, and a shorter tail with white tips; lacks the male’s iridescent throat.
Diet
Feeds primarily on nectar from a variety of native and ornamental flowers, probing with its slender bill and extending its tongue for deep corollas. It supplements nectar with small insects and spiders for protein, captured by hawking or gleaning from foliage. By moving between flowers, it acts as a local pollinator, especially for tubular blossoms.
Preferred Environment
Often forages in flowering shrubs and low trees within dry scrub, garden plantings, and edges of coppice. It also visits mangrove margins and open areas with scattered nectar sources.
