Short-tailed Woodstar
Myrmia micrura
Tiny hummingbird with a very short tail found in arid scrub and desert in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Male has glittering violet “beard” that is bordered by white above and below. Female lacks throat patch and has a buffy tinge to underparts, faint facial stripes, and a white tip to the tail. Female is told from other similar species in range by very short tail that does not reach wingtips when perched and white tip of tail (not white edges or corners).
Identification
The short-tailed woodstar is about 6 cm (2.4 in) long and weighs about 2.3 g (0.081 oz). It and the gorgeted woodstar (Chaetocercus heliodor) are the smallest birds in South America, though the little woodstar (C. bombus) is only slightly longer. It has a very short, slightly decurved, black bill. Both sexes have shining green upperparts. Males have a white stripe from the bill to below the eye. Their gorget is glittering violet and the breast white with dingy flanks. Their very short tail's central feathers are green and the rest blackish. Females lack the bright gorget; their underparts are pale buffy whitish to cinnamon buff. Their tail is like the male's with the addition of white tips on the outer feathers.
Taxonomy
The short-tailed woodstar was originally placed in genus Calothorax but since approximately 1876 has been placed in its current myrmia. It is the only species in its genus and has no subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Myrmia micrura
- Authority
- (Gould, 1854)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Myrmia
Range and habitat
The short-tailed woodstar is found from the southern part of Ecuador's Manabí Province south into Peru as far as northern La Libertad Department. It inhabits arid scrub, shrublands, and gardens. It is mostly a bird of the lowlands. In Ecuador it usually occurs below 200 m (660 ft), though in Loja Province it can be found as high as 800 m (2,600 ft). Similarly, in Peru it is usually found within a few hundred meters of sea level but occurs locally as high as 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The short-tailed woodstar is a year-round resident in most of its range but seems to leave the immediate coastal areas in the rainy season.<p>The short-tailed woodstar forages for nectar at all heights but most often feeds close to the ground. It also eats small arthropods. Details of its diet are lacking, but it has been recorded feeding at flowers of families Malvaceae and Fabaceae. It is often attracted to flowers planted around houses.<p>Almost everything that is known about the short-tailed woodstar's breeding phenology comes from observations in southwestern Ecuador, where the breeding season is mostly from March to May. Males make a U-shaped courtship flight. Females build a cup nest of plant down and spiderweb in a fork of a thin branch. It is typically 0.6 to 2.6 m (2 to 9 ft) above the ground. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 15 to 16 days and fledging occurs 22 to 23 days after hatch.<p>The male short-tailed woodstar's song, given during the display flight, is "a sweet, high series of tititi notes interspersed with a high sweee." The species' call is a "thin tchi-tchi-tchi."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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