The Story
I made this photo of a juvenile Purple-throated Woodstar (Philodice mitchellii) at Finca Alejandría at Km 18 above Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. 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. The male’s gorget is shining violet-purple with a white band below it. Cali lies in the Cauca River valley at about 1,000 meters, with the Western Andes rising to the west of the city.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/30 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