Chaetocercus berlepschi
The Esmeraldas Woodstar (Chaetocercus berlepschi) is a diminutive jewel among hummingbirds, measuring a mere 6-7 cm (2.4-2.8 inches) in length and weighing just 2.5-3.0 grams. Males are stunning with iridescent green upperparts, a conspicuous white postocular stripe, and a brilliant reddish-purple gorget that extends into bristly tufts on the sides of the neck. A stark white breast band contrasts with a dark belly, and its tail is forked. Females, slightly larger, sport similar green upperpar...
This highly specialized hummingbird inhabits humid evergreen forest edges, secondary growth, clearings, and agricultural plantations (such as cacao and coffee). It is typically found at low elevations, primarily below 300 meters, though occasionally up to 700 meters.
The Esmeraldas Woodstar primarily feeds on nectar from a variety of flowering plants, favoring small, tubular blossoms. It supplements its diet with tiny arthropods, which it hawks in flight or gleans from vegetation.
The Esmeraldas Woodstar is a solitary and highly active diurnal bird, spending its day foraging for nectar and insects. Males are notably territorial, fiercely defending prime flowering plants or feeding patches from conspecifics and other hummingbird species through aggressive aerial pursuits an...
The Esmeraldas Woodstar is endemic to a highly restricted, linear strip of lowland humid evergreen forest in northwestern Ecuador. Its core distribution is concentrated in Esmeraldas Province, extending marginally into northern Manabí Province. The species is entirely resident, showing no migrato...
Critically Endangered
- One of the smallest hummingbirds in the world, often weighing less than a U.S. penny. - Its dazzling reddish-purple gorget (throat patch) in males can appear black in poor light, only flashing its true color when sunlight catches it just right. - This species is known only from a tiny, fragment...