Inagua Woodstar
Nesophlox lyrura
A small, long-tailed hummingbird of wooded and scrubby habitats including gardens; most often found feeding on flowers or at hummingbird feeders. Note the male’s iridescent purple throat and forehead plus its long, forked tail. On females, note the orange sides and tail edges. This species is unique within its range. Calls include a sharp, metallic “tit” or “tit-it”; often given in a series, sometimes quite rapidly. Males also make a metallic sound with their tail during display flights.
Identification
The Inagua woodstar is 7.8 to 8.2 cm (3.1 to 3.2 in) long and weighs 2.1 to 2.7 g (0.074 to 0.095 oz). Both sexes have a short, slightly decurved, black bill and a small white spot behind the eye. The male's forehead and gorget are glittering reddish purple. Its upperparts are iridescent green, the breast whitish, and the belly mixed rufous and green. The tail is very deeply forked. Its central feathers are green and the others have cinnamon-rufous inner webs. The outermost feathers are lyre-shaped. Females have dull green upperparts, pale gray chin and throat with small green spots, a whitish chest, and a rufous belly. Their tail is rounded; the central feathers are green and the rest cinnamon with a wide black band near the end.
Taxonomy
The Inagua woodstar was originally treated as a subspecies of the Bahama woodstar (Nesophlox evelynae), which for a time was placed in the genus Calliphlox. Following a 2015 publication, the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the then American Ornithologists' Union recognized the Inagua woodstar as a separate species and the major worldwide taxonomic systems followed suit. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Calliphlox was polyphyletic. Following that study and a 2017 publication, taxonomists moved the Inagua and Bahama woodstars into the resurrected genus Nesophlox.<p>The Inagua woodstar is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Nesophlox lyrura
- Authority
- (Gould, 1869)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Nesophlox
Range and habitat
The Inagua woodstar is found on Great and Little Inagua islands in the Bahama archipelago. It inhabits most of the landscapes of the islands with the probable exception of mangroves. These include dune scrub, freshwater riparian areas, and human-made parks and gardens.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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