The Story
This female Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii) was at Finca Alejandría at Km 18 above Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia when I photographed it. The male’s gorget is shining violet-purple with a white band below it. Besides nectar, it catches small arthropods by flying out from a perch. It builds a tiny cup nest of fine fibers and spiderweb on a thick branch of a tall tree, usually 8 to 12 meters up. It forages for nectar high in flowering trees such as Cordia and Inga, and males defend feeding territories. Cali lies in the Cauca River valley at about 1,000 meters, with the Western Andes rising to the west of the city.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. IUCN lists the Purple-throated Woodstar as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii) belongs to the family Trochilidae (Hummingbirds) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2022), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List